


In a Phrase to Cut These Lips

by swedetastic



Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Domestic, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, I just want to cover all my bases, I swear it's not as painful as the tags imply, Inception Big Bang Challenge, M/M, Mental Anguish, Mental Breakdown, Originally Posted on LiveJournal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-04
Updated: 2014-11-04
Packaged: 2018-02-19 20:04:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 27,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2401223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swedetastic/pseuds/swedetastic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>The military didn't quite know what it was getting into when it created dream-sharing. This is a story about what went wrong. It's a story about dreams. It's about forgetting, and also remembering. But most of all, this is a story about love.</i>
</p><p>Or, the one in which Arthur goes missing, Ariadne and Cobb work together with Saito on another personal job, and Cobb and Arthur eventually find each other.</p><p>(Written for Inception Big Bang 2011, originally posted on Livejournal)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part One

  


 

_Gunshots._

_That’s all he heard when he woke up, and the only thing he smelled was gunpowder. He swallowed in fear, only to taste the tangy flavor of blood on his tongue. Without warning, he started to panic. This is what his training had been preparing him for. This exact situation._

_But what use was it if he couldn’t put any of his training into effect in real life? All those fake bullet wounds. All of that psychological pain. None of it could compare to the real thing._

_His heart rate increased as he continued to bleed from his mouth and the wound in his stomach. He knew he had to remain calm. He knew it, but actually doing it was another story._

_He was about to give up, just scream and scream out of pain and fear. Cry until he just couldn’t anymore. Until he was dead._

_“It’s okay,” a voice was saying. A rough voice, yet one that was oddly comforting and also vaguely familiar. He’d tried to place it, but it was no use. “You’re going to be okay,” the voice continued. It was a man’s voice, that much he knew. The man held him from behind and rocked him back and forth, like a baby. The owner of the voice wrapped his arms around him and pressed down on the bullet wound, momentarily stopping the bleeding. “I’ll stay here with you until some help comes.”_

_“Who are you?” he asked the voice._

_“You don’t remember me, Arthur?” the man asked in return. “How disappointing. I was hoping I’d leave more of an impression on you.”_

_Despite himself and his current predicament, Arthur couldn’t help appreciating the humor in his words. He shook his head. “I’m sorry I just, I don’t remember.”_

_“I’m the architecture student doing an internship at the hospital. My name is Dominic Cobb.”_

_Arthur sighed, contented. The mystery was solved. “I remember now. You’re the one they say has a talent for dream-sharing.” Cobb chuckled, but not for too long. The movement caused his hands to come loose from the wound, as more blood began to drip down Arthur’s stomach and soaked through his standard issue uniform. Cobb pressed down harder._

_“You’re all right,” Cobb repeated in a whisper, more for his own benefit than for Arthur’s._

_“If only I could wake up from this dream, huh?” Arthur asked. He could feel Cobb pulling away slightly, and his chest ached for reasons that had nothing to do with getting shot. “What’s wrong?”_

_“You wouldn’t want to do that.”_

_“Why?”_

_Cobb paused, choosing his next words carefully. “Because you don’t want to leave me.”_

_Arthur didn’t argue with this statement. He might even agree._

_Before much longer, help was on the scene. The medical crew took Arthur out of Cobb’s arms and placed him on a stretcher. He wanted to be appreciative, but he couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed that they took him away from Cobb, thanking him for his help and saying they’d take it from there._

_As they pulled him away, he heard Cobb say one more time, “You’ll be all right.”_

_And then Arthur closed his eyes and let blackness overcome him, the final image of Cobb’s blue eyes looking down onto him fading from his memory. Completely unaware that he continued to lose more and more blood until there was no more blood left and his heart stopped._

*

Dom Cobb had always been more of a summer-type person, back in his past life.

He had loved going to the beach. Loved the ocean. Loved watching the waves crashing upon the shore, while Phillipa and James built impossible castles in the sand. It was his release, his own personal catharsis. A place where he could go to forget all about dream-sharing and extraction and anything that didn’t involve Mal and his children.

That was of course before he got stuck in limbo for nearly fifty years, a place so deep in his subconscious that he could never escape the ocean, day after day after day. Now the beach and anything else related to summer was just a painful reminder of his old life, a whisper across his mind that told him how things used to be. Before. Before inception.

But now he was lost. Aimless. Without his work, without his Mal, without the guilt of his past discretions, he had nothing to live for anymore outside of his children. All that he had left were his children and the memories of a half-remembered dream. It was enough for a little while, but then, inevitably, he needed more.

Dom became an architecture professor at the local university, because it was the subject closest to his heart and the one in which he was most knowledgeable. Getting the position had been easy enough; a few references from Miles, a teaching certificate, and a summary of his past work was all it took before they were calling him to offer the job.

His classroom was ordinary, the student body average. There were a few bright students with plenty of potential, but none had quite the same skill that he had possessed at their age. Still, the work was enjoyable enough, and it gave him something to do with his time. He could deal with the fact that he might not find the next Ariadne among his class.

Admittedly, he missed the creativity and intensity of dreams, but didn’t dare to make himself dream again. He felt like a bad imitator, pretending to be normal.

As the school year ended, he decided to leave and quite possibly never return to the university. He needed to revisit those people who were reminders of his past, his former team, and find out what else was out there for him. He was afraid that if he stayed for too long, he would go crazy. Like Mal.

He could only think of one person out there in the world who might be able to help him, tell him what his problem was, and bring him back to reality. Arthur, however, was nowhere to be found. Like he’d disappeared from the face of the earth. He knew Arthur would be able to take care of himself, but that didn’t change the fact that he was constantly worried about the man’s well-being.

As his attempts to get in touch with Arthur continually failed, he thought of one more person to contact. An architect like himself, living on the other side of the world.

*

It had been nearly a year since he’d last spoken with Ariadne. She had helped him more than she could ever know, and more than he could ever thank her for. After the inception job, he gave her the greatest gift he could think of. He let her go.

Ariadne had been going into her last year of university in Paris before Dom had recruited her to be his architect. It was now spring, and by now she would be graduating. The thought filled Dom with a gleaming sense of pride. A pride only matched by that he had for his own daughter by flesh and blood.

He realized he wanted to be there for her.

He knew from past forays into her subconscious that Ariadne had no family left. She was truly alone in this world, even more alone than Dom was. At least Dom had his children, but Ariadne had never known a father.

At the end of the school year Dom returned to Paris for her graduation, after receiving emphatic confirmation from Saito that he’d be able to return to America again with no issue. Even so, he took his children with him this time. Just to be sure.

It had all been worth it, to see the look on Ariadne’s face when she noticed him among the crowd. He didn’t think anyone had ever looked so pleased to see him before, even Mal.

Afterwards, dressed in traditional cap and gown to signify her place among scholars, she came down to greet him. He introduced her to Phillipa and James, and was amazed by the ease in which they related to each other. It may have had something to do with Ariadne offering James some candy from her stash, as well as offering to French braid Phillipa’s “beautiful golden hair.” Despite not understanding their daddy’s relationship to this strange new girl, they took to her rather quickly and fondly.

It made Dom smile and, truthfully, made him sigh in relief. He didn’t often think of himself as a great judge of character, and more often than not he found himself falling back on his children’s opinions to help determine those that he could trust. Those that were worth his time.

Ariadne appeared to be both.

He took Ariadne to lunch while Phillipa and James stayed with Miles for the day. Dom wanted to be able to catch up with her, without imposing the burden of two young, inquisitive minds interrupting them every minute.

It took a while after they’d been seated for Ariadne to speak. First, she took the time to shift around in her chair until she’d, apparently, found a position of comfort. Then she proceeded to place a lock of hair that had fallen in front of her eyes behind her ear in a calculated motion. He could tell by the way her mouth opened and closed that she wanted to talk; wanted to reach into the recesses of his mind until all of his secrets were laid bare in front of her. She wanted to perform extraction on him. Ah, but at least she had certainly learned from the best.

“Why are you here-” she started, causing Dom to shift in his seat in a sudden rush of indecision. Had he made the right choice in coming here? Imposing himself and his fucked-up issues back onto her psyche once again?

Then she continued in a rush, “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you came.” And Dom felt relief, followed by wonder at why exactly he cared so much.

“I needed to see how you were getting along. After inception.”

“You could have asked your father-in-law.”

“I wanted to see for myself,” Dom said, a half truth. Then again, he supposed it did not matter. The line between truth and lies became more blurred every day, reality itself really only possessing a portion of all the possible truths that lay out there in dreamscapes.

All that mattered was that he was there, because he wanted to be, out of his own free will and nothing else. When he thought about it in that way, the reasoning behind it really wasn’t so important. Explaining that to Ariadne would be complicated, though.

“Did you think we have unfinished business?” she asked suddenly, a question that should sound accusatory, but coming from her it sounds genuinely curious. It’s not an attack. It’s not an accusation, but a legitimate question.

He’s not sure how to answer, because she’s right. Of course she’s right. Cobb hadn’t even realized the truth of it until she stated it out loud. Her uncanny ability to get to the bottom of things was insightful at best, intrusive at worst. She was worse than a mind reader. Mind readers cannot read thoughts that someone doesn’t even know they’re thinking.

“I wanted to see you graduate,” he said, ignoring her question with an accurate, yet non-related statement. Not the whole truth, but getting closer. Ariadne leaned in then, as if she could get a better idea of the answer the closer she physically was to Cobb. Like she could see into his mind just by looking at him a little bit more. It made him squirm in his seat, and then he’s annoyed that she could make him squirm. It was always supposed to be the other way around.

“Thank you for being here.” She obviously wanted to say more, but it’s clear to Cobb that she hasn’t quite finished her psychoanalysis of him yet. He’d give her about five minutes before she was giving a rundown of the intricacies behind his every motivation and action. In the meantime, his mind wandered.

He’s wondered what it would be like to touch her. To run his fingers through her hair, and _pull_. Deflower her, destroy her innocence, and corrupt her in more ways than one. Then he’s so disturbed with himself that he could even _think_ that. That he could imagine doing something so improper, it sent a coil of disgust through his stomach, even while he felt the sudden signs of arousal. He noticed that his palms felt sweaty, and he was pretty sure it had nothing to do with the humidity.

_What was wrong with him?_ Maybe he did need to get laid. It _had_ been a while, after all. The thought of being with anyone after Mal hadn’t even crossed his mind.

God, what would Arthur say about his sick desires? He’d probably look at him with that same calm, reserved expression, but Dom would still be able to sense that underlying look of disdain. Not only did Arthur appear to want Ariadne for himself, but Dom had also always been his, really.

This was more than a little crazy; it was absolutely insane. Ariadne was a _girl_ , for God’s sake. But no, that wasn’t really right either. She was a woman; but he was an old man. Trapped. An old soul returned to the body of a younger man. To want her as anything more than a confidante was not allowed.  
Let Ariadne analyze that part of his make-up.

Dom had a feeling she wouldn’t like what she’d find, if she ever figured him out completely. Better to keep his thoughts secret, place it on the backburner of his mind, than to have his darker nature revealed. Dream-sharing with her ever again was out of the question.

“When was the last time you used the PASIV to dream?” Ariadne suddenly asked, as Dom returned to reality. He’d wanted to avoid this topic, yet he knew she would inevitably bring it up at some point. Maybe he’d always known, but tried to deny it. Either way, he wasn’t going to be able to escape without giving an answer.

“I haven’t,” he said. “Not since inception.”

And that’s what they call it, now. _Inception._ As if it was truly as simple as that. Not at all like it was the job that changed his life and altered every path that he could possibly take, while nearly killing him and his sanity in the process. No, better not to think of it as anything other than simply performing the task of implanting an idea. Being reminded of it quelled any arousal that he’d been starting to feel, at least in the physical sense. But mentally his mind felt instant stimulation from just thinking about it.

She looked not quite shocked by his answer. As if she was surprised, but not totally un-expecting it. “There’s something else,” she said. “Something else about why you’re here that you’re not telling me. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that you never dream anymore?”

“Why do you think that?” he asked, genuinely curious and not quite sure if he was following.

“You’re lost. You can’t dream anymore and you won’t force yourself to dream, or you won’t allow it. That must mean either reality is truly enough for you, or there’s something else in there that you’re hiding from,” she said, pointing to her own head for clarification. “You need my help.”

Cobb smirked. Oh yes, she was good, perhaps too good. But of course, wasn’t that the very reason why he needed her?

“I think you’re right,” he admitted.

“You think? You don’t know?”

“The jury is still out.”

“Ah.” She smiled, the first real genuine smile he’d seen from her in a long time. Of course, he hadn’t seen _her_ in a long time. It was nice, he decided, to see her looking on in amusement instead of worry or concern. He had known her little more than a year, but he’d already ascertained that she didn’t express her carefree nature very often. Only when she was working on architecture, really. She could be serious about it, but she also liked to have fun when she was building and creating things.

“What do you dream about?” he asked her, because it seemed like a logical progression and because he wanted to change the focus back to her.

“Oh,” she started, without a bit of hesitation, “everything. Cornfields, school, buildings, exotic places. Lots of deserts and sand and hot sun. I don’t ever want to go back to that snow blizzard.” She visibly shivered, pulled her light jacket closer and nonchalantly, probably unconsciously, tightened her scarf. The cold dream with the hospital must have really affected her, if just thinking about it caused her to have a psychosomatic reaction. But who was Cobb to say; out of the two of them he wasn’t the one who was a psychoanalyst.

“It was your design.”

“I know, but that was different. I’m not trying to hide from stalking homicidal projections in my dreams anymore.”

“Hmm,” he paused. “Let me order you some tea. You look like you could use it.”

Ariadne laughed, an unfamiliar sound but not wholly unpleasant. “Wait a minute. Is this you talking to me in my dream again? I don’t remember you ever acting so _nice_ in reality.”

It hurt because he knew it was true. He wasn’t nice. Fierce and loyal and passionate and loving, but never nice. Arthur could attest to that. The whole crew could, really, but especially Arthur. He’d hoped it would be different with Ariadne, yet somehow he had failed.

“Well now I am. Nice, that is. Do you want some tea or not?” he asked, more harshly than he meant to.  
She smiled while shaking her head amusedly. “Tea would be lovely.”

*

It was incredible to watch the way Ariadne interacted with Cobb’s children with such ease.

They’d just come through the front door of Miles’ house when Phillipa and James came running to greet them, both talking at once to Ariadne in excitement about some program they had seen on TV. Dom stood back and watched as they each grabbed one of Ariadne’s hands and pulled her towards the television.

It was hard to believe that Ariadne could be an only child. She interacted with his kids just as well as if they were her own siblings. Nothing was forced. She was natural and genuine. It made Dom appreciate her and what she’d brought to his life even more. It was going to be difficult to leave Paris again, but he knew he couldn’t stay there. Too many memories.

Ariadne sat on the couch and watched a program with Phillipa and James. Dom looked on until Miles appeared, and started talking his ear off. He didn’t want to listen. Didn’t want to hear about his responsibilities and issues and things that he needed to fix. Before long, Dom started to tune him out.

“Dom, are you listening?”

“Sorry, no,” he said, not feeling very sorry at all.

Miles sighed, a long suffering sound of British superiority. Because of course Miles knew best, and Cobb didn’t know anything at all. How could he properly explain to Miles that, technically, he had nearly twice the mental age that Miles did? It didn’t really matter; in-laws were still in-laws.

“I said, I got a call for you earlier from a Mr. Saito. Said he needed you to come to Japan at once, and that he would provide you with a private jet as early as this evening to fly you out there, if that’s what you required. Dom, what kind of people have you been getting yourself involved with? Sounds like a gang leader to me.”

Cobb flinched at the first mention of Saito’s name. He noticed that Ariadne’s ears had perked up as well, and she was now watching them both with barely concealed interest. He tried to ignore her looking on with prying eyes while he thought of an appropriate excuse to explain away his connection to Saito.

“He’s just a former client, is all. Did he leave his number?”

Miles nodded. “I wrote it down next to the phone.” As Cobb started to walk in that direction, Miles grabbed him by the arm. “Dom, if you were ever getting into something you couldn’t handle, you’d tell me right?”

He doesn’t know how to answer truthfully, so he doesn’t.

“Dom!”

He picked up the phone and started dialing the number before Miles could get another word in. He heard Saito’s distinctive accent on the other end just as he heard Miles saying, “You better not be doing another extraction.”

“I need you for a job,” Saito said.

“I’m retired from the extraction business,” Cobb replied, giving Miles a pointed look as he did so. He was just calling Saito to satisfy his curiosity, really. And to pleasantly decline as best he could, of course.

“No, no, no. It’s not like _that_ ,” Saito emphasized. “I thought you might be especially interested, as this is a unique case.”

Cobb waived Miles away, who made an affronted noise before turning on his heal and walking in the other direction. “Does it involve dream-sharing?”

“Yes.”

“Then no.”

“Cobb.”

“Saito, I haven’t used dream-sharing in almost a year. I can’t do it anymore. I don’t… I don’t know what would happen if I did.”

Ariadne was standing up now, as his kids continued to be entranced by their show. He wanted to keep her out of this, but she wasn’t following according to plan. She stepped closer, and he had to restrain himself from pushing her back.

“Cobb, what’s going on?” she asked. He ignored her, shaking his head.

“Mr. Cobb. This job is more of a… psychological study. It does not require extraction and there is nothing illegal about it. It’s a very personal case, for me. I would greatly appreciate your assistance. You will be given $15,000 for your time. It should only take a week.”

It sounded convincing. Saito was too smooth for his own good.

“I’m really not interested.”

“Look, you could even bring your children along with you, I don’t mind. And it’s a job I know you’ll enjoy.”

Cobb paused, seriously considering it for the first time. “Oh, yeah? How do you know that?”

“Because it is unique. Something that hasn’t been done before. Besides, I know you must get bored.”

“I’m not,” he said, but knew it was a lie as soon as the words had left his mouth. Saito laughed, a deep and rich sound that still sent a chill down Cobb’s spine, despite knowing that Saito was definitely on his side. Rescuing someone from limbo kind of made them your friend for life; well, at least, in theory it did.

“Don’t try lying to me, Mr. Cobb. You have not dreamed in a year, you have no career, you have no partner. You have to be bored.”

“I have a job,” he said, but Saito just scoffed at that. “And how would you know I’m not with anybody right now?” He saw Ariadne raise her eyebrow at that, but he acted like he didn’t notice. He could only imagine what it was like getting only half of this conversation. And with Ariadne’s endless curiosity, there was no way she would just leave him to a private phone call.

“I have my ways,” Saito said.

“You’ve been keeping tabs on me?”

“Only to make sure you are okay,” Saito assured. “What you did for me, performing inception, that was a big deal. I needed to make sure you were dealing with the aftermath.”

“How kind of you.”

“You’re welcome.” Maybe he was powerful enough to buy an airline, or have personal spies in several countries, but Saito didn’t always quite participate in the act of sarcasm. Saito continued on, “I’m going to need you to assemble another team. Most importantly, you will need an architect.”

“An architect? Well if this job is really as unique as you say, then I don’t know if I’ll be able to find an architect who’s good enough to-”

“I’m going with you,” Ariadne interrupted, loud enough for Saito to hear through the phone.

“Ah, is that the lovely Ariadne I hear?” Saito asked. Cobb covered up the mouthpiece of the phone so he couldn’t listen anymore.

“Why would you do that?” Cobb asked her. He could even feel his brow furrowing. “You’ve just graduated. You can do anything. You’re free.”

“No, I’m bored. Just like you.” She gave him a lopsided smile that was really more like a smirk. He already knew there was no point in arguing with her. Maybe it’d be a good idea, anyway, for her to come along and help watch Phillipa and James.

“Mr. Cobb? _Cobb_?” Saito was asking repeatedly through the phone.

“Yes, fine,” Dom finally answered. “What time do we leave?” Dom could _sense_ the grin of triumph on Saito’s face. That man was used to getting what he wanted, no doubt about it.

“7:00 sharp,” he said. “How many seats will you need to reserve? Will that point man of yours be coming along?”

Dom was startled by the sudden mention of _his_ point man. His Arthur. “I don’t know…” he drifted off.

“What?”

“I don’t know where Arthur is.”

*

_Arthur was in the hospital on the military base for two weeks._

_Cobb had been studying there to kill two birds with one stone. The hospital was being remodeled, and as he helped with the architecture plans for the design he could also observe the military’s experiments in dream-sharing. Miles had already taught him a lot, but he wanted to discover it firsthand for himself. The military base provided the perfect place for his little experiments, late at night when the soldiers were fast asleep and nobody cared what he was doing._

_The phantom pain of Arthur’s bullet wounds had been pretty severe, but he would survive. The man was tough; Cobb could see that right away. Although he appeared immobile immediately after being shot, Arthur had maintained a sense of calm that he’d never seen on anybody else. Holding him and comforting him had been relatively easy._

_He visited him in the hospital every day. There wasn’t really much else to do, really. And while Cobb enjoyed using the PASIV to dream, it wasn’t as exciting without having somebody to share it with. Now he had Arthur, somebody who cared. Somebody who actually listened. Somebody for Cobb to take care of. As far as he was concerned, Arthur was his own. The wounded man didn’t seem to give any protest to this assertion, which reaffirmed Cobb’s affection._

_Arthur was delighted every time he came to visit, Cobb could see it in his expression. He wondered what it would be like to be a soldier. To be so completely alone, as Arthur was. Nobody could even come to visit him in the hospital besides Cobb. It seemed so incredibly lonely._

_“Did you bring me something today?” Arthur asked one time. It had become their ritual. Cobb came to visit by his bedside and talk about whatever topic came to mind, while providing Arthur with outside food or little trinkets to keep him entertained._

_Cobb smiled as he held up his newest present. “I brought you this.” He held out his hand practically under Arthur’s nose, with the red cube lying in the center of his palm._

_“A die?”_

_“Not just a die. A_ loaded _die.” Arthur squinted at the object but didn’t reach out to take it. “Here, you have to hold it,” Cobb insisted, as he reached for Arthur’s hand and put it there. Arthur held it for a few moments, then squeezed it in his hand, testing its weight._

_“Where did you get a loaded die?”_

_“I made it.”_

_“You made this?” Arthur asked in astonishment. He nodded. Cobb was proud of his creation; it felt so natural and real, it was almost like magic to watch it land on the number six every single time._

_“Here, test it out. Roll it and see.”_

_Arthur tossed the die exactly thirteen times (Cobb kept count), his eyebrows rising higher with each roll that landed on the same number. “That’s incredible,” he finally said. Cobb was grinning from ear to ear. Somehow the idea of impressing Arthur seemed even more difficult than creating the die in the first place._

_Years later, when Arthur decided to join Cobb’s extraction team, he didn’t hesitate to use the loaded die as his totem, even though Cobb would also know its exact properties and weight. Cobb always thought that was dangerous, but Arthur was insistent. Arthur kept saying that he trusted him, and Cobb didn’t have the heart to tell Arthur that he shouldn’t._

*

Three hours later, Ariadne played tic-tac-toe with Phillipa on the plane while Dom entertained James with stories of magical lands that he’d actually experienced before in dreams. The domestic scene made Dom happier than he wished to let on. It was like their own little fucked up version of one big happy family. If pressed, he’d say there was only one thing missing. The children didn’t have their mother.

“Daddy?” James asked when Dom must have paused for too long in his storytelling. “Where has Uncle Arthur been?” It was a genuine inquiry, filled with all the curious confusion belonging to any precocious four year old.

“I don’t know, sweetie. He’s just been away. He’s probably working.”

“Everyone’s always working,” James responded with a huff. “It’s annoying.”

Dom couldn’t help laughing. “Yes, yes it is.”

“So why do they do it?”

“Well, to make money to provide for you guys, for one,” Dom said, simultaneously reaching for James’ stomach and tickling him. James giggled, and Dom’s heart swelled with love. He was never a sap in any other part of his life, but James could bring that side out of him at the drop of a hat.

James sat silent for a moment, pondering. “Daddy, where are we going? Are we going home?”

Dom shook his head. “No, we can’t go home yet. We’re flying to Japan. Daddy has some business to take care of there.” Dom saw James’ lower lip beginning to pout, so he had to reassure him that Japan would be cool and he’d like it. James didn’t appear to completely agree, but he didn’t argue.

When they landed, Saito was waiting for them after they de-planed. He held out his hand to Dom, who shook it tentatively. After all this time, there was still an overwhelming presence about Saito that made Dom feel a little bit smaller, a little less important.

“Follow me,” Saito said. “My attendants will take care of your luggage.”

“Where are we going?” Dom asked.

“The hospital. That’s where our mark is staying.”

Dom paused. He hadn’t been told this part earlier. “Is he a doctor?”

“No, he is a patient,” Saito replied, in a tone that suggested that should have been obvious.

This answer worried Dom more than he could explain. “What are we dealing with here, Saito? A little more information would have been quite helpful, you know.”

“Ah, but we are trying to relieve you of your boredom, remember. And what fun would there be in giving you all of the information up front? Better to keep you guessing.”

Dom rolled his eyes, he couldn’t help it. This giving up of control wasn’t in his make-up. “Well we’re here now, so you may as well tell me.”

“The patient is suffering from Alzheimer’s, and we need to help him remember. He spends almost all of his time asleep.” That was all Saito would say. He refused to explain any more until they got to the hospital. It was irritating, but there was nothing Cobb could do about it, so for once he just followed.

When they made it to the hospital (in Saito’s private limousine, of course) Cobb asked Ariadne to stay with his children in the waiting room. She nodded, and he felt instantly grateful. He followed Saito down the hall and was hit with the sudden realization that he was in a _hospital_ , a place loaded with too many bad memories that he’d rather forget. It sent a chill down his spine.

“Are you all right?” Saito asked.

“What? Yeah, I’m fine.” He hadn’t even realized that he’d given off any physical evidence that he was uncomfortable, or that Saito was watching him. Saito nodded, and let the issue drop. He led Dom into a room where a man was lying asleep on a single cot, a man who looked amazingly similar to Saito. He was younger, though, and his face was thinner. But otherwise, it was fairly obvious that the two were related.

“Who is this?” Cobb asked, not wasting any time.

“You can call him Lee.”

“Lee?”

“Yes, just Lee.”

“But who is he, in relation to you?”

“He’s my brother,” he answered simply. Dom could have guessed that himself, but he wanted to know the entirety of their relationship. Were they close? Was he a friend, or an enemy? Just knowing that Lee was Saito’s brother did not confirm that he was a friend. But Saito did not extrapolate, and so Dom knew he was going to have to pry.

He would leave the relation questions for later. For now, he went a different route and focused on the case at hand. “How could he have Alzheimer’s? He must be, at most, twenty-eight?”

“He’s thirty. And I don’t know how he could have the disease; the doctors are unable to tell me. That’s where you come in.”

Cobb shook his head fervently. “I can’t go into his head, who knows what I would find in a subconscious like that?”

Saito smiled sadly, a contradiction that only a man like Saito could pull off so well. “Don’t you see, Mr. Cobb, that’s what makes this job so interesting. Are you trying to tell me you’re not the least bit curious to see what’s going on in his head?”

“Dreams are different. Dreams are random projections of the subconscious. Just seeing what your brother is dreaming will not provide the answer for why his memory is faulty.”

“That’s why I needed the best. I know you’ll figure out a way.”

Cobb sighed in defeat, knowing he was going to give in and hating himself for it. This was proving to be a challenge, and Cobb never backed down from a challenge. If there was a puzzle to solve, he was damn well going to try to solve it.

He couldn’t help thinking that he needed Arthur there, to tell him what to do. Dom always acted like he was in charge, yes, and he always did have the last word. But Arthur’s advice was invaluable to him. He was the one who kept Dom in line, always making sure that he didn’t push the envelope too far. When Arthur was around he made himself a constant presence, always protective, always there to pick up the pieces and put Cobb back together again whenever he broke.

“Cobb, will you do it? Will you help my brother?” Saito interrupted his thoughts. So, it was a friendly operation then. That was a little comforting, at least. Dom didn’t want to be involved in the illegal side of the law ever again.

Cobb nodded. “I’ll see what I can do,” he said with a shrug. Arthur wasn’t there to tell him not to.

*

_“Dream-sharing is a very delicate art,” Cobb told Arthur one day, when Arthur had repeatedly insisted that Cobb share his knowledge with him. Cobb had tried to avoid this subject, but in his heart he had known he wouldn’t be able to keep it to himself forever._

_“The officers told us that it could prepare us for the real life situations we were bound to face, but getting shot in a dream could never have prepared me for the real thing,” Arthur said._

_“The technology is still very new. The problem with the dreams the military creates is that there’s no creativity to them, no design, no structure. How are you supposed to believe what happens in your dreams if they don’t seem realistic enough to compete with reality?” Cobb shook his head, pausing before he continued._

_“No, what they need is an architect.”_

_“An architect? What for?”_

_“To create a believable enough dreamscape that you believe it just as much as you believe in this reality. Not just any architect, either. They would have to be an expert, someone who could cover each and every detail that might appear in the subject’s dreams.”_

_“Someone like you?” Arthur asked with a smirk._

_“Exactly.”_

_Arthur laughed. It was the first time Cobb had ever heard him laugh, as far as he could recall. If Cobb had things his way, he’d be hearing that laugh much more often._

_“Would you show me? Build a dream for us to share?”_

_Cobb hesitated, swallowing the lump that had suddenly appeared in his throat. He hadn’t been expecting that._

_“It could be dangerous,” Cobb warned._

_Arthur just smiled that half-smile of his. “I trust you,” he said. And not only was the lump back in his throat, but Cobb could feel his chest tightening at the words. His body unconsciously telling him that it was time to reveal the truth. As much of the truth as he could, at least._

_“You’re actually dreaming right now,” Cobb admitted._

_“I’m… what?”_

_“We’ve been talking for about an hour now in your dream, so the timer should be going off any moment.”_

_“What are you talking about?”_

_“Think. How did we get here? Can you remember?”_

_“We-” Arthur stopped, his eyes widening in horror and realization. “No, I can’t.”_

_“That’s how the dream works. It seems so natural in the dream world that we don’t even notice that something is off.”_

_“That’s incredible,” Arthur said. “Everything looks so real. I’ve never had a dream like it.” Cobb found himself pleasantly surprised with Arthur’s response. He fully expected Arthur to be freaking out, causing the dream to collapse right about now. But he held it together amazingly well, and everything remained in its place just so. The projection nurses and patients filling Arthur’s hospital didn’t even glance in Cobb’s direction for more than a fleeting moment._

_“You have to experience it first hand to fully appreciate the potential of dream-sharing,” Cobb continued._

_“Potential? What else would you want to do with it?”_

_The dreamer Cobb smiled a wolfish grin. “Now see, that’s where the fun part comes in. Have you ever heard of a technique called extraction?”_

_Arthur shook his head. Cobb continued on._


	2. Part Two

  


 

When Dom sat down Ariadne to go over the requirements of their latest job, she shook her head back and forth.

“I don’t like the sound of this.”

Cobb’s shoulders sagged in disappointment. He’d been so sure that Ariadne would want to dive right in. He wasn’t too proud to admit that he needed Ariadne for this one; or at least he could admit it in his own head, if not out loud. “So you’re not going to do it, then?” he pressed.

“Oh no, I didn’t say that. I just said I don’t like the sound of it. We need to have this one planned out before we even attempt to enter that man’s subconscious.” She hesitated then, her mouth remaining open but no more sounds came out.

Dom closed his eyes tightly, as if he could hide his frustration that way. “Okay then, spit it out. What is it you want to say?”

“Well, I…”

“What?!” Dom suddenly snapped, his uncontrolled irritation getting the best of him. He didn’t have time for this. He had a job to do. She wilted, and he couldn’t help feeling a brief flash of guilt for yelling at her. Very brief, though.

“Cobb, we need Arthur for this. Do you really not know where he is?”

That was the rub, wasn’t it? Because whenever someone met Dom Cobb, they in turn met Arthur, his right-hand man. Then over time the person just started assuming that they would always be together, that they were psychologically tied at the hip, at least. And if Dom appeared, and Arthur didn’t soon follow, then something was wrong.

At least that’s the way it was before he married Mal, and then Arthur only showed up half as much. After that, Dom and Arthur no longer saw each other every day. And then Mal was gone, except she really wasn’t, because wherever Dom went the shade of Mal would follow.

Either way, Dom couldn’t fucking win.

“Cobb!” Ariadne’s hand was on his shoulder, shaking him until he jerked under her touch. “Cobb, you’re starting to scare me. You keep doing that.”

“Doing what?”

“Drifting off. Are you sure you’re prepared for this? Because if you’re not, if there’s any chance your subconscious will bring Mal back…”

“It won’t,” he said firmly. “She’s gone now. Forever.” A deep-seated part of him didn’t want that to be true, no matter how dangerous his projection of Mal was, but he knew that it was the truth.

“I want to believe you, but – I guess I’d just feel better if Arthur was here.”

“I’m sure you would,” he responded before he could stop himself. And then he couldn’t help it, couldn’t restrain his malicious laugh. It wasn’t jealousy, not at all, no way. Not even a little bit. “Is that what you’ve been wanting all along? Just a chance to see him again?”

“What is wrong with you?” she asked, instead of giving him an answer, the tiny frown lines on her forehead becoming more pronounced. “Oh yeah, I decided to follow you to another country for some crazy, unknown job that could get me killed or sucked into limbo so I could see Arthur. Instead of just, you know, picking up the god damn phone and giving him a call like a normal human being. Yeah, that makes perfect sense.”

“All right, so it wasn’t a perfect theory, but you keep pushing it. I thought you might get the hint and let it drop by now.”

“Okay, well, I must have missed that memo. Sorry for not realizing that Arthur has suddenly become Voldemort.”

“Voldemort?” Dom asked. She’d lost him.

“He who must not be named? From Harry Potter? Jesus, don’t tell me you haven’t read Harry freaking Potter.”

Dom shook his head, and Ariadne just _giggled_. Fucking giggled. Dom could have slapped her, but he managed to restrain himself, just barely. What did she expect, he thought to himself, after he was mentally stuck in limbo for nearly a lifetime? That he would finally come back to reality and the first thing he’d want to do is catch up on the latest _pop culture_? And then he shares this thought with her, and she just nods soberly. And oh god – now she was looking at him with fucking pity, the last thing he wanted.

“Don’t do that,” he commanded.

“What?” she asked softly, barely a squeak.

Dom sighed, and decided it wasn’t worth it. She’d figure it out on her own eventually; she was smart like that. “Just, let it go,” he finally said, and graciously she did. He returned his gaze to the plans laid out before him on the table, his eyes blazing holes into the papers indicating that they were very much done here.

Ariadne stood up and pushed her chair in before turning around to leave their current hub. As she opened the door, she turned around to say one more thing. “By the way, Dom,” she started, and he lifted up his head at the sound of her using his first name. “I’m not trying to steal Arthur away from you,” she finished.

The door was closing behind her before Dom had the chance to ask what she meant.

*

Dom tried to get Eames in on the job with them, but he turned out to be otherwise occupied with a different job or poker game or something else equally insignificant. Dom didn’t buy it. For all his talk of disliking that “stick in the mud,” Dom couldn’t help thinking that Eames wasn’t interested if Arthur wasn’t involved. It was silly, ridiculous, and paranoid.

And maybe Ariadne had been right about everything, and he needed Arthur around to maintain his sanity. Damn her.

They didn’t need Yusuf for this one. The dream only had to be one level deep, two at the most, and so heavy sedation wasn’t necessary. Dom would have refused the job anyway if a sedative that powerful was required, “interesting” job or no. If he was going to die in the dream this time, he damn well wanted to wake up in reality. So… he didn’t need Yusuf’s help, but that didn’t mean Dom didn’t miss having the chemist around, oddly enough.

Consequently it turned out that Saito, Ariadne, and Dom were alone on this one, something that terrified Dom much more than he was willing to admit to anyone.

Saito was insistently confident that everything would work out perfectly fine. Dom couldn’t decide if he was just being unrealistically positive to keep up appearances, or if he really did believe so strongly in their abilities. Perhaps after performing inception, any other job seemed commonplace and simple to him. Dom took the opposite view: the art of dream-sharing now appeared infinitely more complicated than he could have ever, well, dreamed of.

At least the dreamscape Ariadne created for Lee was incredible. She had become pretty damn good at all this, even with the small amount of practice and limited time she’d had to prepare.

They were in a Japanese tea garden, inside of a life-sized maze made out of the greenest hedges Dom had ever seen, real or otherwise. Lee and Saito sat conversing, while Ariadne and Cobb stood guard. They each held their own weapon, and Lee seemed uneasy at first, but he calmed down once Saito explained to him that they were his personal security.

Dom hadn’t been sure that Lee would fall for it, that his subconscious would leave them alone, but apparently the bond he shared with Saito was strong enough for there to be complete trust. Or perhaps Lee’s damaged mind just didn’t realize yet that there was something foreign in his dream. Either way, for the time being, they were safe.

The only problem was, Saito wasn’t getting anywhere with Lee, even after an hour of talking in dream time. And they were almost out of time. Lee had barely said anything at all since they’d entered his dream, deflecting every one of Saito’s questions with the shake of his head. Dom would have tried to steal the answers from Lee, as was his way, but Saito had refused to invade his brother’s mind in such a manner. As if they weren’t already violating him by entering his dreams sans permission, Dom mused.

Without warning, Dom saw a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye. He cocked his gun, and pointed it in that direction.

“What’s wrong?” Ariadne asked immediately, standing off to the distance, but Dom shrugged her off and kept his weapon poised. He could feel Saito’s eyes burning into him, but he ignored that too. He heard Lee begin to cry, a pitiful sound that he couldn’t possibly ignore.

He lowered the gun. He let it fall to his side, the metal pressing against his thigh, but he still felt his shoulders tense up. Now Lee’s crying had dissolved into a soft whimper.

“Dom, what are you doing?” he heard a familiar voice ask, but it wasn’t Ariadne’s. Or Saito’s. It was a voice he knew even better than his own. His eyes widened in recognition, and his throat felt instantly dry. His grip on the gun changed, loosening until it was practically slipping out of his fingers.

“Arthur?” he croaked out, his tongue feeling too heavy and sinking to the bottom of his mouth like lead. They hadn’t seen each other or even spoken in months, and Dom hadn’t realized just how much he missed him until now. Even if he was only a projection, which he most certainly was. Just a shade.

Arthur appeared from behind the entrance to the maze, and Ariadne let out a small gasp. Arthur took the time to smile in her direction, nodding his head towards her. “Always a pleasure to see you too, Ariadne,” he said. Dom felt the instant coil of something resembling jealous in his stomach, and had to mentally slap himself.

It was ridiculous, to feel jealous of someone getting the attention of a fucking _projection_. His own projection in fact, if the army uniform Arthur sported was any indication. It had to be his; the others didn’t even know that Arthur had once served in the military. Or at least, Dom didn’t think they had any idea.

“Saito,” Arthur acknowledged the businessman with a tilt of his head. Saito didn’t say anything back, just continued to look at Dom, and he didn’t look very happy.

“So what’s he doing here, then?” Saito finally asked.

“That’s what I came here to ask you guys,” Arthur answered. While Dom knew he must look flabbergasted, he was entirely thankful that Arthur answered for him because he really had no idea what Arthur was doing there at all. He continued, “That’s why I came along. Dom, I ask again, why are you here? You already know what happened to Saito’s brother.” Dom shook his head in disagreement, because he really, really didn’t.

“Oh, come on,” Arthur said, sounding damn frustrated for a projection. “You already know the answer. If you didn’t already know, then I wouldn’t be here in the first place.”

“Cobb, what the hell is he talking about?” Ariadne asked, looking just as confused as he felt.

“I have no idea,” Dom said. “Arthur, stop talking in riddles.”

The projection of Arthur chuckled loudly, a sound so out of character that he knew for sure this wasn’t the real Arthur. “Always so demanding, aren’t you, Dom? And riddles, huh? Isn’t that what you do best yourself? Talking in mazes and riddles and loops. Of course it’s just like you. I’m only talking because you’re thinking these thoughts yourself. Or your subconscious is, anyway. Well, you know how that part works. I hope.”

“I don’t remember your subconscious ever being this rambly before,” Ariadne pointed out.

“Neither do I,” Cobb agreed.

“Would somebody please explain-” Saito began, at the same time Lee started mumbling incoherently. The only words Dom could make out were “Not real, you’re not real,” as the man rocked back and forth. Of course Lee was off his fucking rocker, but at least he was right about this one thing. It was incredibly distracting, though.

“Could you please shut him up!” Cobb snapped. He saw Saito put a protective hand on his brother’s shoulder, right before he looked at Dom with a glare that could kill.

“Clearly he is not in his right mind,” Saito articulated slowly, as if he was talking to a very dense child. “A little sensitivity is required, perhaps?”

He mumbled an apology under his breath.

“What was that?” Saito asked.

“Look, I’m sorry. But I’m trying to think here. That’s why we came here, right? To figure out what’s wrong with your brother’s mind. I’m going to help, but I can only do that if he remains quiet so I can hear myself think.”

“You better figure it out quickly,” Arthur said with a flourish of his hands, an impatient gesture. “You don’t have much time left now. Now that they know what you’re doing here.”

“What? Who are ‘they’? God damn it Arthur, you’re in my head and you’re still not making any fucking sense.”

Arthur shook his head in a disapproving manor. “No, you’re just not thinking about this the right way. That’s why you need me to explain it; you always did need my help.”

Even though he knew the pointlessness of it, Dom pointed his gun at Arthur when the projection didn’t continue his explanation. “Look, you better start ta-”

“Okay, okay, point that thing somewhere else, would you? It’s the projections, all right. The other, not so helpful ones. Lee’s projections are on their way.”

“Shit,” he said, just as a gun was fired. Ariadne began screaming in pain. Dom ran to her side, pulled her to him and covered the wound in her shoulder as best as he could. “Jesus Christ!” he cried out. “Where the hell did that come from?”

“The hedge maze, of course. They have you surrounded right now,” Arthur paused, his expression softening. “Dom, you should shoot her. Wake her up. There’s nothing else you can do now, no need to make her suffer any more.”

Cobb looked at Saito for approval, and after a beat the other man nodded in acquiescence. He could barely look at Ariadne, but he heard the barest whisper of her agreement. She looked on bravely, staring her dream death in the face as Cobb went back for his gun and then shot her cleanly between the eyes.

“What now?” he asked, but there was no need. The projections appeared from their hiding spaces in the greenery, and all hell broke loose.

*

Dom woke up with a start, his body jerking up out of the chair in Lee’s hospital room. The first thing he saw was Ariadne, and seeing her not bleeding and not crying in pain with the IV already detached from her arm made him want to jump up and give her the biggest bear hug. He refrained though, somehow. No sense in actually crushing her in reality.

Saito woke up next. He didn’t waste time, or mince any words. Typical. “Cobb, what the hell happened in there?”

Dom shook his head in annoyance. “Just give me a minute, all right? I did just get shot by ten or so different machine guns.”

“I did too, if you will recall. And I’d like to know right now what in the world your subconscious was going on about, and what it means for my brother!”

“I don’t know, okay! Well, clearly I do know, but I haven’t gotten it all straightened out yet. Those must have been trained projections, coming prepared with such weapons, but you didn’t say anything about your brother’s mind being militarized-”

“It isn’t,” Saito interrupted. “The only involvement Lee has had with the military was a two month recruitment training program in which he failed miserably… wait.”

Cobb’s eyes widened as he was hit with a sudden wave of realization. “Oh my god, that’s what it is, isn’t it? You forgot to mention the little detail that your brother was _trained in god damn dream-sharing_!”

“I didn’t realize it was important to mention,” Saito argued. “And you never asked,” he added with a sneer.

“Will you girls stop arguing, please?” Ariadne said, being the first thing Cobb heard her say since he woke up. It shut them up pretty quick. “And now explain to me what the hell you’re talking about.”

Cobb turned to look at her as if he was just seeing her for the first time. “You remember how we told you that the military designed dream-sharing as a training exercise?” he asked, and Ariadne nodded to confirm his statement. “Well,” he continued, “it wasn’t always conducted in a civil manner. They didn’t understand how real-like the dreams could be or what lasting negative effects from the training might occur.”

“So what you’re saying is that Lee went through the military’s dream-sharing program and it screwed up his mind somehow?”

“Definitely. I’ve seen it happen first hand to someone else… once. Before,” he dragged out. Ariadne blinked a few times. Stared. He felt like a specimen in a petri dish. It made him squirm internally.

“So, let’s recap. You clearly have a significant connection to the military. You’ve seen this type of psychological torture before. _And_ a projection of Arthur showed up in your dream to explain it to you, wearing army fatigues. Does that about sum it up?”

“Yeah, something like that,” he answered, not able to meet Ariadne’s gaze. But out of the corner of his eye he could see her giving him that look, the one that meant the gears were turning in her head, putting the final puzzle pieces in their place.

“Something like this happened to Arthur, didn’t it?” she asked.

He couldn’t answer her, but he was pretty sure his dumbstruck look told her everything she needed to know. His gut wrenched and his head reeled at the sudden influx of bad memories that he had buried (as best he could) a long time ago. Dom felt dizzy and had to reach out a hand to the nearest table to steady himself.

“I think you have some explaining to do,” Ariadne said.

Saito stated almost simultaneously, “I would just like to know if this means you can fix my brother.”

“No I don’t, and yes I can,” were his answers.

Ariadne glared at him, while Saito looked relieved. This suited Dom just fine. He didn’t want to talk about what had happened, not now or ever. All he wanted to do was go over the plan, finish the job, and then get the hell out of dodge.

“So what do we do?” Saito asked. Simple. To the point.

“We go back in there, into Lee’s mind, and convince him that this world is real while the one inside his dreams is dangerous. We remind him of his past, before the military training. You’ll need to dream up every memento you can think of that will remind Lee of his former life. And most importantly, you’ll need to show him love.”

“Love?” he asked, clearly caught off guard.

“Yes, love. One of us will pretend to be an enemy sent to kill him, and you will have to convince Lee that you’ll be there to protect him no matter what, probably by taking a bullet for him. That would be the best way.”

“You want to help my brother by shooting me in a dream?” Saito scoffed in disbelief. “I don’t see how this will benefit his psychology.”

“Because it’s not the fear of being attacked that bothers us the most; it’s the idea that when we are unable to defend ourselves, nobody cares enough to protect us from harm.”

Dom caught Ariadne’s eye this time. She was still staring at him, but now her expression had softened. “You’re sure this will work?” she asked him.

Dom shrugged. “It worked for Arthur,” he said. Not wishing to go into any more detail, Dom turned around and headed towards the door. “I’m going to check on James and Phillipa,” was the final thing he said before leaving, ignoring Ariadne’s protests that he stay and re-live his past.

*

_Eventually, inevitably, Arthur woke up. This time he noticed the needle sticking in his vein that didn’t need to be there. The experiment had officially ended, and now it was time for Cobb to explain._

_“What do you mean I wasn’t really shot?” Arthur protested, although it was really more like shouting._

_Cobb felt that all too familiar coil of guilt starting to wrap itself around his stomach. He was the one who’d designed the levels of the dream. He was the one who the government had paid to assist in their experiment. It was entirely his fault._

_“Look, I’m going to need you to stay calm,” Cobb said in the most re-assuring voice he could muster for the situation, when what he really wanted to do was hold Arthur, stroke his back and sooth him until everything returned to normal between them. Instead all he could do was remove the IV from Arthur’s arm. No need to pump any more Somnacin into him now._

_“I am very fucking calm,” Arthur annunciated each word with purpose. “Now explain to me how I could feel the pain of a bullet wound, or why I’m in this god damn hospital even, if I was never actually shot?”_

_“You were dreaming, I told you that. The pain was just in your mind.”_

_“No. You told me I was in a dream the last time we talked while in this same position. But that was after I got shot on the battlefield.”_

_“It was a dream within a dream. You were never on the battlefield, Arthur. There is no actual war going on. Think, can you remember what battle you were fighting in?”_

_The pupils of Arthur’s eyes narrowed into two tiny dots, his brow furrowed in anger and frustration. “No. I don’t. Is that what you wanted to hear?”_

_Cobb shook his head sadly. “I just want you to know the truth. That’s why I’m here right now, and why you need to be restrained in this hospital bed. They warned me that your psyche might be damaged once you woke up.”_

_Arthur looked away, all around the room, looked everywhere but at Cobb. His eyes were wild and he seemed completely dazed. Cobb had to cling to some sense of hope that Arthur wouldn’t be permanently brain damaged. He had to fix him, had to help him through this. He just had to._

_“If I was dreaming before, just like this, how do I know that any of this is real?” Arthur paused for a moment before continuing. “How do I even know that you are real?”_

_Cobb gave a sigh. “You don’t. But I am.”_

_Arthur still looked unconvinced, and who could blame him? Cobb didn’t know if he would believe himself either, if he was in the other man’s shoes. He knew dream-sharing could be a fragile thing to begin with, and adding levels to that only complicated the process. How could he expect things to simply return to normal between them when he had lied to Arthur about what was real?_

_All of a sudden Arthur was taking in a deep breath and he appeared to be much calmer than before. He continued to look at Cobb for a few moments before speaking. “Okay, I believe you. I believe that you’re real. I’m sorry I had such a meltdown. Now could you please undo these restraints? My wrists are starting to chafe.” Arthur gave him a small smile, and Cobb figured he owed him that much._

_Cobb reached over the bed and set the other man free._

_Arthur ran._

*

They returned to Lee’s subconscious and everything seemed to go all right. Lee didn’t run away, so that’s the first sign that they just might have a chance to get this done. Ariadne volunteered to be the crazy projection sent to kill Lee, an idea that Dom thoroughly rejects at first. He didn’t even know that Ariadne could shoot a gun.

Ariadne proves to him that she can. She admitted that Arthur took a bit of time to train her in this too. Dom can see that he trained her well, that or she’s just a quick learner. Either way, she’s able to get the job done. It all works out.

Saito was surprisingly good at comforting Lee. He reminds Lee of what reality is and what is not, talking him through it patiently while explaining the danger of staying there. Slowly Lee began to nod as if he understood. Ariadne approached from the maze with gun in hand, and Saito took the bullet for him like a good soldier. And still playing the role of bodyguard, once again Dom had to kill Ariadne. This time he doesn’t mind as much.

As Saito’s mind began to succumb to the psychological pain, Dom admitted to being impressed by Saito’s amount of control. He barely even winced when the bullet pierced his skin.

But the pain that Saito must have been feeling was still palpable, even if it was just in a dream. Lee immediately ran to his brother and appeared to sober up. He looked at Saito with concern, but Saito simply looked back at him with strength.

Lee held down the wound to try to keep the blood from flowing, but eventually it wouldn’t be enough and Saito would die. Still, he took care of Saito with a kind of controlled frenzy. It was admirable to see the relationship that the two obviously shared, and Dom couldn’t help feeling the slight twinge of sadness in his chest at the fact that he’d have to shoot a bullet into the back of Lee’s head.

Finally the dream was shattered, and once again they all woke up in Lee’s hospital room. This time, Lee woke up as well.

“Saito!” Lee shouted once they all returned to consciousness, the first thing he’d said the whole time they’d been there. Saito stood up, bullet wound gone, perfectly fine for all intents and purposes.

He walked to Lee’s bedside, and the other man pulled him into a hug. Saito looked uncomfortable at first, but he soon returned the man’s embrace. As he retracted from the hug he appeared just as composed as ever, but Dom could see the underlying sense of relief that was rushing off of him in waves.

“Are you all right? You were shot!”

“I’m okay, I promise. I will heal before you know it. You’ve been under for a while, and I’ve already become much better during that time. When I found out you were not conscious, you had me so worried. Now tell me, what do you remember? This is important.” Saito said all of this, just as Dom had instructed him to do. He spoke in English, for Cobb’s benefit.

And Lee began to tell him all that he knew from before, how Saito had come to rescue him from the prison of his dreams from a crazy, evil little girl with a devilish glint in her eye. Pretty accurate description.

Good thing Ariadne had remembered to leave the room before it was time for Lee to wake up.

Lee re-lived all of his memories from the past year in the span of a few minutes, and the important thing was that he could remember any of it in the first place. Dom stood in the doorway, and nodded along as he spoke. So far, so good, and there was no mention of his military service or any other terrors. Dom counted this job as a success.

“You’re going to be just fine,” Saito told his brother, as he turned to Dom and winked. Good enough for him.

As Dom left to re-join Ariadne and his kids at the daycare section of the hospital, Saito ran after him and asked him to wait. Dom paused and slowly turned around. “You can mail me my check,” he stated. “I assume you already know my home address.”

Saito nodded. “Yes, I do. But that’s not why I came after you.”

“What is it? You should be spending time with your brother.”

“I wanted to tell you thank you, I really appreciate all you have done. I may appear to be cold to others, Mr. Cobb, but family is very important to me. Perhaps the most important thing.”

“You’re welcome,” Dom replied simply, turning once again to leave. He had never really been good at this kind of thing.

“There is one more thing, Dom,” Saito said, and he froze at once again being called by his first name. Dom had paused mid-step, but he still kept his back towards Saito as the other man spoke.

“I know how to find Arthur.”

Dom looked back.

*

The flight back home to America felt so much longer than the original flight to Paris, even if it was actually about the same amount of time.

James and Phillipa slept mostly, tired out from their short adventure in Japan. Ariadne, on the other hand, was wide awake and just as chatty and inquisitive as ever. Dom wondered again why exactly he let Ariadne convince him that her coming along was a good idea.

“It will be great! I’ll rent an apartment somewhere nearby, and that way I could come around and help out with the kids. You know, whenever they’re getting to be a handful for you. Being a single dad must suck. I mean…” she paused, instantly recognizing her slip.

“You’re right,” he agreed, sighing. “It can be difficult.”

Satisfied that he wasn’t going to lose it, at least not right then, she continued on. “And now since I have my degree, I’ll look around and start applying for a job, and you can be my reference! That way I’m sure I can get a job in no time.” She turned to look out the window dreamily. “How soon do we land? I can’t wait.”

He couldn’t help it, he laughed.

“What’s so funny?” she asked.

“I thought you said you were bored. Why would you want to come back to the states with me and get a regular Joe Shmo job?”

“Because Cobb, I know being with you could never be boring.”

He smiled. Perhaps she was right.

Dom tried not to let it show, but he was continually distracted by thoughts of Arthur and the last thing Saito had said to him. _He knew where to find Arthur. He knew where Arthur was. And he was going to find him and return him to Cobb._ These thoughts consumed him for the remainder of the flight.

After they’d landed and were finally home, Dom slowly began to realize that although Ariadne said she’d look for an apartment, of course she didn’t have one yet. That really left only two viable options; she could spend the rest of her savings on a nightly hotel, or she’d have to stay in one of Dom’s guest rooms.

Never one to turn down a lady, Dom knew what he should do and offered her a place to stay. Though that didn’t mean he’d have to like it.

She seemed to be perfectly content with the situation.

*

It took about a week for him to hear from Saito again, and each day that passed was filled with an anxious kind of longing. When his phone rang and he recognized the number, it took all of his composure not to jump into the air from anticipation.

“Mr. Cobb?”

“Saito, finally. Have you heard from Arthur? Is he okay?” He knew that Arthur was usually more than capable of taking care of himself, and that’s why Dom told himself he hadn’t tried to find Arthur before. But he had to admit there was always that nagging thought at the back of his mind that was something akin to worry.

“Arthur is just fine. He should be calling you shortly, I would think.”

“You think? Why don’t you know?” He could hear the edginess starting to enter his own voice, and knew he was going to have to try to tone that down somehow.

“One of my business partners heard that he is finishing up a job back in Mombasa. My partner found him and assured me that Arthur should be returning to America very soon. Then he should be getting in contact with you.”

“Mombasa?” he asked, stuck on that one word. Could that mean what he thought it meant? What was it that Eames had said he was busy with, again? And what about Cobol Engineering? More questions swarmed in his head than could be answered.

“Yes, Cobb,” Saito replied in a resigned tone. Apparently his first-name basis was officially over.

“Well,” he started, not sure what else to say. “Thanks for your help, then.”

“Any time. Truly, if you require any further assistance in the future, well you know how to reach me.” And with that, he hung up.

Dom sighed and returned his gaze to the yard, where Ariadne and Phillipa were playing a version of “Pretty, Pretty Princess” with James playing the role of the evil dragon out to get them. The scene was virtually perfect, and so he didn’t want to interrupt them. He’d have to wait until later to tell Ariadne that they just might be seeing Arthur, the real Arthur, soon.

At least he hoped so.

*

_Cobb hoped, prayed, begged to find Arthur. After almost twenty-four hours of searching, he finally did._

_When Arthur had initially run away, Cobb had been too stunned at first to do anything. Another moment to regret. He stared at the Arthur-shaped impression left in the hospital bed for a few seconds too long, just a few moments and Arthur was already out the door and lost to him._

_He searched the military base up and down. He looked through the surrounding area. He had been thorough in his search, at least he thought, and yet it still took Cobb nearly a day to find Arthur._

_When he finally did find him in the woods outside the base, he was curled up into a fetal position at the trunk of a large tree and rocking back and forth. Cobb felt an overwhelming sense of relief as he sat down next to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulder._

_After a brief moment of offering comfort, Cobb asked, “What the hell are you doing out here?”_

_“I don’t know. I didn’t know where else to go.”_

_Cobb squeezed a hand tighter around his shoulder before pulling back and lightly smacking the man’s arm. “Snap out of it,” he said. “This isn’t like you.”_

_“How the fuck would you know?”_

_“I’ve gotten to know you over the last few weeks. You’re smart, capable, in control. Definitely nowhere near insane.”_

_“That was before I found out that you’ve been playing around in my head for two weeks, at least you told me two weeks. Or has it been longer?” he asked suspiciously. “I could have been stuck in the dream for a year or more or who knows how damn long.”_

_“You weren’t. It really has been two weeks. You woke up intermittently during the dream which threw off you’re perception of time, in addition to the fact that time moves slower in the mind than in reality. But I promise you that’s how long it’s been.”_

_There was a pause, and for a moment Cobb was frightened that he wouldn’t hear Arthur speaking to him ever again. Finally, thankfully, he said as he let out a breath, “Two weeks of my life I’ll never get back.”_

_Cobb nodded, sobered, before reaching for Arthur’s hand and just holding on for as long as he dared. He knew any moment that Arthur might lose it again; throw a hand back in his face and be running off to who knows where. For some reason in that moment he thought of Mal, his beautiful fiancée who was waiting for him in Paris. Waiting for him to come home. He knew he couldn’t stay here much longer._

_The work paid well, but he had to get back to her._

_“I found this in my pocket,” Arthur continued after a minute of silence. Cobb started at the sound of his voice, looking down to the red cubed object that Arthur held out in his palm. His die. Cobb had nearly forgotten about it._

_“I remembered you gave it to me,” he pressed. “But I didn’t think it was real.”_

_“That part was real, Arthur. You were awake during that time. You were awake for most of the time, really. I just wasn’t allowed to tell you yet that you hadn’t been shot.”_

_“I remember the first time you said we were actually dream-sharing. That was the second level of the dream, correct?”_

_“That’s right.”_

_Arthur wore a conniving smile. “This is real, huh?” he asked rhetorically, before letting the die slip from his hand and watching it roll._

_It landed on six._

_Both men stared down at the minute object. “I admit, I feel a little better now,” Arthur said._

_“You’re not going to run?” Cobb finally asked._

_Arthur leaned in just a little closer to Cobb, such a small gesture that he probably wouldn’t have caught it if he hadn’t been paying so much attention to Arthur’s every move._

_“Not anymore. Not ever.”_

_“Good.”_

_“But there’s one more thing I need you do for me before all is forgiven.”_

_Cobb swallowed. Anything. He’d do anything, he realized. And that scared him more than anything._

_“Share a dream with me, one that I’m aware of beforehand. No lies, no pretenses. Take me into your dream and show me how you do it. Let me see which world I believe in.”_

_He didn’t have much choice but to agree. The military wasn’t going to be very pleased with his decision when they found out he was playing around with their own technology._

_Maybe next time he and Arthur would be running away together._


	3. Part Three

  


 

The very next day he did hear from Arthur, but it wasn’t over the phone. Instead Dom heard the doorbell ring, and when he ran to answer the door he was pleasantly surprised to see Arthur standing on the other side of it.

At first his mouth was clamped shut and any words he thought to say died in his throat. Eventually he spoke.

“Arthur?” He meant it more as a statement, but the lilt at the end of the word came off like a question. Arthur wore slacks and a casual dress shirt with sleeves rolled up, his satchel hanging off his shoulder before he placed it at his feet. This was definitely Arthur, all right.

“Dom,” he nodded. “It’s been a long time.” Then he mutely smiled, and proceeded to sway from one foot to the other. “You going to invite me in?”

“Yes, of course.” Dom opened the door wider then, realizing that he’d been standing in the doorway, taking up the space and just staring at Arthur while they went over the required pleasantries.

“Arthur!” he heard a girl’s voice cry out behind him, and although at first he expected it to be Ariadne, it was actually Phillipa. Then Dom remembered that Ariadne had gone off on her job search over an hour ago, and how stupid was it that he’d actually forgotten or that he could confuse Ariadne with his own daughter.

In the span of a moment that it took him to think of this, Phillipa had already rushed past him and into Arthur’s arms. He gave her a hug, smiling even more awkwardly as he held her. James followed closely in her wake, but he stayed behind Dom and grabbed onto his father’s pant leg, suddenly shy.

Arthur chuckled as he placed Phillipa back on the ground. “You remember me, don’t you James?” he asked.

“Yeaaaah,” the little boy answered, drawing out the word and nodding. He peaked out from behind Dom’s leg. “You’re my Uncle Arthur. You’ve been gone a very long time.”

“You’re right, it has been a while. But hopefully I can stay this time, if that’s okay with your dad of course,” he said with an indication towards Dom. Dom found himself nodding without even thinking about it.

“Yeah, stay!” the kids shouted in turn. “You can share the guest room with Auntie Ari,” Phillipa went on to say, giggling as she did so.

“Aunt Ari?” Arthur asked, lifting an eyebrow seemingly in Dom’s direction.

“I’ll explain later,” Dom answered awkwardly. “Why don’t you go clean up the play room while I have a talk with Uncle Arthur,” he said to James and Phillipa. They nodded reluctantly and ran away to go pick up their toys.

“Let me get you a drink,” Dom started. “Water? Soda? Something harder?”

Arthur shook his head. “Just water for me, thanks. Little early for the hard stuff.”

Dom nodded, “Understandable.” While Arthur sat down on the couch he went to the kitchen to grab a glass of water, trying to ignore the path his mind took at the unintended innuendo of Arthur’s last words. Once again, how could he be thinking of a thing as frivolous as sex at a time like  
 _this_?

He did whatever he could to hide any excess feelings when he passed the glass to Arthur. The younger man sipped at his drink while Dom watched. An awkward silence followed, which did not sit right with Dom at all. This wasn’t like them, at least not how they used to be. They used to talk for hours on end, excited about the prospect of jobs and dreams and adventures.

Before getting stuck in limbo, it had always been Mal and Dom and Arthur. They were a trio. But Mal had been wrong about one thing (more than one thing); there could be more than just two halves to one whole.

“How are y-”

“Where have you been?”

Arthur chuckled, “You first.”

“Well, I’ve been looking for you. I heard you were just in Mombasa. Doing a job with Eames, I suppose? And I’m doing good, by the way,” Dom said, although something in his voice admitted that this might not exactly be the truth.

“Yes in fact, and I’m glad to hear it.”

Dom had to backtrack before putting together that Arthur had admitted to working with Eames, without a hint of animosity in his voice. “That’s strange.”

“What?” Arthur asked, slightly flustered.

“I didn’t expect you to get back into the business so soon, especially with Eames.”

“I can’t stay in one place for too long, you know that. And Eames offered me a job opportunity that would help clear the price on my head with Cobol Engineering. It worked. You’re clear as well, by the way.”

“How did you manage that?” Dom asked, barely able to believe it.

“That happens to be confidential information,” he replied with a smirk.

Dom smacked him on the arm playfully. Now this was more like them. “There are no secrets between friends.”

That seemed to bring Arthur back into reality. His previous smile quickly turned into a more serious frown. “It’s probably better if you didn’t know the details of this, Dom,” Arthur said.

Dom made a huffing noise and turned his face away. So it was okay for him and Eames to know about a job involving Cobol, but not him? He was the one who got them into the whole mess to begin with; he should have been the one to save them from it. Not Eames of all people.

Dom looked away, looked at the ceiling, looked anywhere but at Arthur. “How is Eames doing, then?” he finally asked, desperately wanting to change the subject but apparently not able to.

“Just fine, as always. You know how he is; nothing fazes him.”

“Yeah, right.” Dom agreed, not sure if he did. He had introduced Arthur to Eames in the first place; therefore he should know him better than Arthur did. In theory, anyway. Though the more he thought about it the more he realized it probably wasn’t true. Dom didn’t usually spend much time trying to get to know his business associates, while it was practically Arthur’s job to know everything about them.

He hesitated before speaking again. “So, where are you going to go next? I know you told the kids you were going to stay here a while, but…” Dom didn’t put much faith in the probability of that happening.

“I’m not sure,” Arthur said slowly, contemplating. “I could go many places. Try to sniff out a job here or there. With references from Saito I can practically go wherever or do whatever I want now. It’s kind of nice.”

“Must be.”

A beat passed, but then Arthur continued. “I know you need to stay here, Dom. With your kids and your family. Shit, god knows you need a break from everything. But I can’t stay out of the extraction business forever. I’ve just never been able to really settle down anywhere.”

“Except for when you lived near me and Mal, at the college,” Dom pointed out. That had been after Arthur followed him off the military base, back to Paris and back to Dom’s life as a poor student.

Arthur shook his head. “I left sometimes. You just didn’t notice.” His voice sounded sad and distant, filling Dom with a sense of regret that he didn’t quite understand. It’s not like he had been at fault, since it was Arthur’s choice to follow him. He knew that Dom had an architecture degree to earn and a fiancée to marry, not to mention dreams to explore.

“So Aunt Ari, huh?” Arthur asked suddenly, interrupting Dom’s train of thought. “That wouldn’t happen to be in reference to Ariadne, would it?”

“Yes, it would,” he said with a raise of his chin, for some reason feeling defensive. He didn’t like one bit the leer in Arthur’s expression or the implications in his tone. Arthur didn’t appear to be as jealous as Dom had expected him to be. This pissed Dom off, though he couldn’t articulate why.

“How did that come about?”

“I went to her graduation, and then Saito called us in for a job. Then she just sort of followed me here. She’s currently looking for a place of her own,” he hastily added at the end, making sure it didn’t sound like a permanent thing.

“Seems like you have a habit of getting people to follow you,” Arthur stated nonchalantly, leaving Dom to try to decipher what exactly he meant. “And I’m surprised you left to do another job.”

Dom swallowed, and then let out a breath. He remembered now exactly what that job had entailed, and how it reminded him of Arthur’s past. Probably, for Arthur’s benefit, it would be better to keep the particulars of the encounter with Lee to himself. Arthur was so far removed from the anxious person he had once been, and Dom didn’t want to be the one responsible for sending him back into madness.

“I like surprising you,” Dom admitted, impressed by his own boldness. “I don’t often get the chance to do so.”

Arthur gave him a quizzical look at that, the lines in his brow furrowing deeply.

“Dom, you’re always surprising me.”

That made Dom smile, and a warmth began to settle in his chest that slowly made its way down to his stomach. Suddenly his clothes felt too tight and his heart beat too fast. He had to get up and move around before he embarrassed himself.

“You okay?” Arthur asked as Dom got up and began to pace back and forth a few times.

“Yeah I’m fine,” he mumbled. “Let me get you settled in your room. Not the one Ariadne is staying in,” he made sure to clarify. “You’re going to stay here at least for a few nights, I presume.” He didn’t make it a question, this time it was a statement.

Arthur nodded and then stood up.

*

When she got home, Ariadne was filled with excitement from getting a possible employment offer and proceeded to talk their ears off.

After giving Arthur an all too familiar hug (Dom had been watching far too closely) they sat down at the kitchen table while Dom attempted to cook. Phillipa offered her “help,” which consisted of throwing ingredients together in a bowl and confusing the hell out of Dom. Ariadne and Arthur both laughed at him, while Dom frowned. Cooking was serious business in the Cobb household.

A domestic scene unfolded before him. As Arthur and Ariadne got caught up with each other, chatting practically non-stop, Dom felt horribly left out. Is this how Arthur had felt every time he went out with Dom and Mal? At the time he never really considered Arthur’s feelings, but now that he looks back on it, being the third wheel must have been really depressing.

Then again, Dom still hadn’t been doing it on purpose. Arthur could have gone out and found his own girlfriend, easy. He just never did. There were girls here or there, he recalled, but none of them stayed.

Dom squeezed his eyes shut, attempting to block out his own thoughts but failing spectacularly. For once he felt fortunate that he couldn’t dream normally anymore, as he wasn’t thrilled at the idea of getting in touch with his subconscious right now.

Ariadne continued to laugh. Did she ever stop? Dom didn’t remember her being anywhere near this carefree while they worked on performing inception. Understandable of course, but still. Why had she been so giggly lately? “Cobb, don’t burn the house down,” she said with way too much amusement for someone whose kitchen might be catching on fire.

Dom looked behind him and almost yelped at the food starting to burn in the oven. He reached for it and pulled it out in time to prevent a fire, but the dinner was officially burnt to a crisp and completely inedible. Dom looked completely distraught. Phillipa frowned, matching his expression.

She always did take after her father. “What do we do now, daddy?”

Arthur answered for him, “I figured the cooking thing might not work out. Don’t worry, I already found a good place for Chinese take-out.” It couldn’t be true. Dom had his eyes on Arthur the whole time, and he had done nothing of the sort.

“Very funny,” Dom retorted.

Arthur and Ariadne grinned. James, who had been sitting at the table playing with his collection of monster trucks, burst into his own set of giggles. It was like the rest of them were in on a big joke that didn’t include Dom. He threw his mitts down on the counter and sighed loudly in frustration. That seemed to give Arthur pause.

“So where is this great Chinese place?” Dom asked.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll call in the order. Just sit down and relax,” Arthur said soothingly. Dom got the distinct feeling that he was being coddled, but he couldn’t really argue. If he kept stressing out about this then his head might possibly explode.

For once Dom did as told, sitting down and asking James to share his toys with him. He did so happily, and Arthur left the room supposedly to order dinner and make everything right. Dom could feel Ariadne’s eyes on him, once again trying to get to the very depth of his soul through staring. He glared up at her and asked, “Is there something I could help you with?” in a biting tone.

She threw her hands up and pushed her chair away from the table, then left the room in a huff. Dom let out a groan.

“Dad, why did you have to upset Ari?” Phillipa asked as she re-joined them at the table. He looked at his daughter in wonder, at her ability to discern the situation.

He put on a fake smile. “I didn’t mean to, honey.” When she didn’t seem to be very impressed he said, “Don’t worry, she’ll be okay once she cools off.”

“You sound like Arthur,” Phillipa pointed out, before leaving the room. Dom didn’t have anything to say to that.

*

The five of them fell into a daily routine. Arthur and Dom helped the kids get ready for their final week of school in the morning, Arthur making breakfast for them (usually cereal but occasionally pancakes), Dom getting them dressed and making sure they were packed. Ariadne picks them up from school when she can, tires them out with play and then puts them down for their afternoon nap.

A couple weeks into her job search, Ariadne received a call-back for an interview with a contracting company. When she got news that they were offering her the position, she demanded that the three of them go out to celebrate. Not being able to refuse her cheeriness and wicked smile, Dom reluctantly hired a babysitter for the evening. Ariadne assured him that they could check up on James and Phillipa with frequent phone calls.

After dinner at some suave restaurant that Arthur had been dying to try for quite a while, they end up at a less than classy bar (Cobb’s choice). He bought them a bottle of champagne and said a toast in Ariadne’s honor. They clinked glasses and shared smiles. Dom was just starting to relax when Arthur pulled on Ariadne’s hand and asked her for a dance.

His heart thudded in his chest as he watched them, then increased tenfold as they each in turn got hit on by several different bar patrons. Unable to watch much longer, Dom turned his back and faced the bartender, ordering a glass of whiskey.

He drowned shot after shot, only briefly turning around to see Ariadne’s hips moving everywhere as she danced by herself, and Arthur standing there while another man got too close into his personal space. He didn’t like the way the man seemed to be undressing Arthur with his eyes, but knew that if he intervened then Arthur would just be pissed off. So he kept on nursing the drink in front of him, pointedly ignoring everyone else.

By the time Ariadne and Arthur returned to the bar, Dom was five drinks in and beginning to slur his own words. Arthur offered to drive them home, and Dom had to put a steadying hand on Ariadne’s shoulder to help him walk straight.

When they got home, Arthur took care of paying the babysitter for the night while Ariadne checked on the kids sleeping in their beds, making sure they were okay. Dom was barely functional. They sat him down on the couch before they started to settle in for the night. As Ariadne yawned, Arthur told her that he could take care of Dom and that she should go to sleep.

Ariadne nodded in agreement. “Good night, Arthur. Cobb.” She left for the upstairs guest room, Dom watching her go every step of the way.

Arthur reached out towards him, wrapping his arms around Dom’s back as he gently lifted him up.

“All right, let’s get you into bed.”

“Oh really now, is that what you want to do with me?” Dom asked, the alcohol in his system allowing the words to slip out.

Arthur didn’t seem to notice, or else it didn’t really affect him. He simply half-dragged Dom along, straight-faced as ever, as if this was simply another one of his jobs he had to perform. And Dom supposed that made sense, since in a way Arthur had made taking care of Dom part of his mission.

When they reached his bedroom, Arthur placed him on the bed and began the task of undressing him. He started by removing his shoes and socks, and Dom shivered when Arthur’s fingers brushed his ankles. Realizing this would become an even bigger problem once he made it to his pants and shirt, Dom panicked.

So he put out a hand and pushed Arthur back. “I can do it myself,” he insisted. “You should go now.” He tried to make himself sound emphatic and serious, but discovered that doing so while buzzed was a bit difficult. Arthur easily ignored his orders, beginning to unbutton his shirt from the top down instead.

When he reached the third to last button, Dom grabbed his wrists and held them tightly. “Why are you doing this?” he asked, his voice sounding screechy and desperate to his own ears.

“So I can make sure you get to sleep without injuring yourself or doing something equally stupid,” Arthur answered without hesitation.

“Not just that,” Dom clarifies. “I mean _this_. Everything. Staying here, cooking meals, picking up my dry cleaning. Why do you do it?” Dom had wanted to know for quite a while, but never had the opportunity to ask. He may have been drunk, but if anything that just made him more curious to know.

“There’s not much else for me to do, is there?”

“You could leave.”

Finally that got Arthur to stop touching him. He left Dom’s shirt partially opened as he drew back.

“Is that what you want?” His tone sounded straightforward, but Arthur’s eyes betrayed an underlying sense of vulnerability that made Dom’s heart ache.

“No,” Dom answered immediately, taken aback by his own insistence. “That’s not what I meant.”

Arthur sighed. “I’ll stay here for a while. As long as you want me to. I make no promises that I can stay permanently, but I’ll be around if you need me.”

Dom stood up, whether to push Arthur away again or pull him closer he wasn’t sure, but then the choice was made for him as he stumbled and fell back on to the bed. Arthur looked on in amusement with a crooked smile, and then turned around to leave. “I think you’ll be okay once you sleep it off,” he said.

As Dom’s head hit the pillow he was too sleepy to voice a protest, but for the first time in a while he wished he could have someone else sleeping next to him.

*

As he was experiencing a quite significant hangover the next day, Dom made the decision that he needed to start getting out of the house. Ariadne had found a roommate and a potential apartment to rent, Arthur was going out to find employment in legal dream-sharing, and the children were starting at their first summer camp. That left Dom at home alone with nothing to do, slowly going crazy.

On a whim he called the university and enquired if there were any open positions. With extreme fortune, he was informed of a summer class that could use a new professor as the former one had become pregnant and wanted a few months off. They set up an interview for the very next day.

“I think I found a summer job,” he informed Arthur and Ariadne that night. She clapped her hands excitedly and congratulated him, while Arthur went on to ask him questions about the work. “They have a position for a Creative Design teacher,” he explained.

“What kind of design?” Ariadne asked.

“I’m not sure.”

“Then how do you know that you qualify?” Arthur asked suspiciously.

“I don’t. But I guess that’s what I’ll find out at the interview tomorrow.”

They chit-chatted more as they finished their pepperoni and black olive pizza (Arthur’s choices), curled up on the couch to watch a movie together and then went their separate ways to their own bedrooms. If Dom didn’t know any better, he would have said that they were just like a normal, happy family.

He lay awake on his bed for a while thinking about things, but once he did fall asleep he slept very comfortably.

The next day he felt refreshed and ready to face the world. Arthur picked out what suit he should wear and helped him tie his tie. “Good luck today,” he said, but there wasn’t much enthusiasm behind his words. Dom nodded his thanks anyway, and tried to ignore how shallow his breathing had become when Arthur finished doing the knot. He swallowed harder than necessary and looked away from Arthur, then said his goodbyes as he picked up his briefcase.

Dom left for the college in haste, anxious and excited all in one for his interview. In a brief amount of time, it became more like he was asking all of the questions instead of the interviewer. The older woman seemed ready to hire him practically from the moment he walked in the door.

“We are very lucky that you were available for this position on such short notice,” this Mrs. Henderson gushed. “Admittedly, we were getting a bit frantic trying to find someone who is capable of doing it.”

“Well I’m not sure what the subject matter of the course entails. Of course, if you want me to teach architectural design than I’d be more than willing. Here, I can show you my list of references-”

Mrs. Henderson held out the palm of her hand to stop him. “Mr. Cobb, we are well aware of your prior experience,” she said, and he detected a knowing glint in her eye. “That’s why the school would like you to design your own class structure, based on your knowledge of real-life architecture and being an architect for dreamscapes.”

It made him nervous that she seemed to know so much about him already. Though it was true that his work in dream-sharing wasn’t exactly confidential, that didn’t mean it was a good idea for him to be out in the open when there were high-profile ex-clients or potentially shady employers around.

Then Dom had an idea. Maybe there was a way he could extend his knowledge to his students in a way that didn’t border on illegal. He thought about the Lee job, and Arthur, and training Ariadne, and a multitude of other experiments in dream-sharing that were not widely publicized yet. These psychological aspects of dreams could be combined into a curriculum on dream-sharing that should keep him from getting in any kind of trouble with the law.

It just might work.

Mrs. Henderson listened as he explained his idea, her smile growing wider by the moment. She asked him a few more mandatory questions before telling him he was free to go. He shook her hand and headed to the door, but before he could leave he heard her speak.

“I can’t say this officially, Mr. Cobb, but expect to begin teaching your class two weeks from Monday.”

He was actually really looking forward to it.

*

Arthur was waiting for him in the kitchen when he got home, dinner already being prepared and the kids watching a movie up in Phillipa’s room. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for them to come together like this on most days, but for the first time Dom felt like he should greet Arthur with an embrace. He wanted to, god did he want to, but unsure of how Arthur would react he decided to hold back.

“How did it go?” Arthur asked, genuinely curious.

“It sounds like I got the job,” Dom said with a grin. “Wait till I tell you what I’m going to be teaching.”

“That’s great,” Arthur said, but the nicety of his words did not match the sound of his voice. In fact, he sounded downright snarky. “You’ll have to tell me about it over dinner.” He turned his back on Dom, facing the kitchen appliances instead.

It was dismissive, and for the first time Dom realized Arthur did not seem so excited for him to get a teaching job. In fact, he seemed pissy about it. Dom couldn’t fathom why this would make Arthur upset, or why he even cared, and he couldn’t figure out how to ask. Without any control over it, Dom felt his face begin to get hot and his irritation level rising just a bit too high.

Sometimes his own anger management issues scared him, but other times he was convinced that Arthur did something to deserve his wrath.

And sometimes he wanted to reach out and hold Arthur, but it seemed he didn’t know how to.

Instead, without warning, he slammed a fist down on the table out of his own frustration. More angry at himself for not being able to express his emotions properly than at Arthur. It hurt, but he wasn’t going to let it show. Arthur turned around with a jerk, his eyes burning holes into the scene before him.

“What the _fuck_ , Dom?” he exploded somewhat quietly (he always had been an expert on contradictions), the first time Dom had seen him come undone since he got arrived on his doorstep.

“I should be asking you the same thing. What the fuck is wrong with you? You’ve been acting distant ever since the other night.”

Dom hadn’t realized the truth of it until the words were out of his mouth, catching him a bit off-guard. But it was true, he knew that now. Ever since getting drunk enough so that he could barely speak, Arthur’s demeanor had completely changed. Sure he still talked to him, and helped out around the house, but he’d been acting like it was more of a chore than anything else. Now Dom just needed to know why.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Arthur said, but the hunch of his shoulders and the change in his facial expression said otherwise. And Dom hated being lied to.

“Fine. You want to act like a child? Then I’ll treat you like a child.”

Arthur didn’t respond. Instead he continued on in the kitchen, banging cabinets and dishware around in a petulant way. Cobb stormed out of the room. How had things turned sour so quickly?

He didn’t need this shit. Not now. Not when he was just starting to put his life back together again into some form of normalcy. Maybe having Arthur around all the time wasn’t as good for him as he’d initially thought.

He made his way to his bedroom and flopped down on the mattress. Lying on his bed with the door closed, Dom started to remember.

*

_Dom remembered the first time he and Arthur performed an extraction together._

_It was right before Mal died, when Dom was strung out, at his wit’s end, and couldn’t think of anything else to do. He hadn’t spoken to Arthur in weeks, and he felt apprehensive at the idea that this phone call may lead to rejection, but he called him anyway._

_“How have you been?” he started, not even bothering to announce who it was. Arthur would know._

_“Not great, but better.”_

_“Good. Listen, I’m going to need your help with something.”_

_“What is it?”_

_“Extraction. It’s time.”_

_“You know I can’t do that.”_

_“You’re the only one I know who’s trained well enough in dream-sharing to pull it off. You won’t even have to be the dreamer, I’ll take care of that part. You’ll just be along for the ride.”_

_“Why don’t you just take Mal down with you? Surely she’s capable enough.”_

_“I.. I can’t. She’s not lucid enough anymore. Arthur, it’s getting worse. She can’t tell dreams from this reality any longer.”_

_There was a lengthy pause that stretched long enough to make Cobb uncomfortable, causing him to shift in place. Finally Arthur spoke again, and Cobb went still. “Why don’t you find legal work?”_

_“It’s not that simple. There aren’t really very many paid avenues for using dream-sharing, and that’s the only usable skill I have right now. Besides, I need the money. Maybe then I could afford to get Mal some professional help.” Then Cobb held his breath, hoping that that would be enough to convince Arthur to enter dreams with him again._

_“You absolutely need me to go on this job with you?” Arthur asked._

_There wasn’t any hesitation in his answer. “Yes.”_

_“Then I’ll be there. Where do I meet you?”_

_He felt immense relief at Arthur’s compliance, like the heavy weight he’d been carrying on his shoulders since returning from limbo had lightened a bit. In his mind he let out a silent “thank god,” and barely restrained himself from saying it out loud._

_Their first job had been a complete failure, but they used it as a learning experience. They were only able to get half of the information out before the subject discovered he was dreaming and the dream started to collapse. Cobb and Arthur had barely gotten out in time with the little bit of information they salvaged._

_Their employer was none too pleased, but still paid them half of the original sum for delivering half of the goods. For a while, it was enough. In the meantime, Cobb spent many hours with Arthur just working, trying to figure out the best way to create the dream world so that their marks would spill out all of their deepest secrets. Cobb would stay out for longer periods of time than he would have liked, half of him knowing he had to work but the other half terrified that he wouldn’t be there for Mal when she needed him._

_Then their anniversary came, and his entire world that he’d built came crashing to the ground. Literally. Afterwards, Arthur gently worked on putting the pieces back together again. He was the glue, but Cobb was barely hanging on by a thread._

_After Mal’s passing, leading all the way up to inception, they worked together on their dream-sharing skills. In the span of a few short months, they had improved their craft and quickly gained a reputation as the best extraction team out there. Other criminals had done it before, but Cobb’s inclusion of a point man on his missions, especially one of Arthur’s caliber, helped him to become the most sought after extractor in many parts of the world._

_Arthur voiced his concerns over how well-known they were getting, but Cobb kept dismissing him. He had other important things on his mind, like getting home._

_“Now you’re a wanted man for more than one reason,” Arthur said one day after a particularly close highway chase in which they had very nearly been killed._

_“I’ll deal with it,” Cobb replied._

_“There’s only so much running you can do before it all catches up with you.”_

_Cobb felt his frustration getting stronger. “I don’t have many options left, do I? And what about you? You didn’t have to come running with me.”_

_Arthur scoffed at that. “Are you kidding? You practically dragged me into the extraction business with you.” Arthur seemed to muse over this for a moment. “Granted, there was only a little bit of kicking and screaming on my part, but that’s beside the point.”_

_“So what is your point?” Cobb asked, about ready to give up on this conversation._

_“My point is you need me. Not just for jobs, but for everything,” he said, his voice starting to rise. “I’m the one who’s been holding you together for all of this time. And my point is, there’s only so much I can take before _I_ break.”_

_“Then leave,” Cobb said in a dangerously low tone, turning around to depart their dingy hideout motel room and slamming the door in his wake._

_He didn’t stay to hear Arthur say, “You know I’d never do that.” Cobb didn’t hear Arthur say that maybe he didn’t leave because he needed Cobb too._

*

The next two weeks passed by in somewhat of a blur. Dom almost felt like a zombie, performing his day to day duties but with no real emotion behind any of them. Ariadne had moved out, but she still visited frequently. She seemed to sense the tension between him and Arthur, even going so far as to mention how odd they were behaving. Arthur ignored her, while Dom simply said that she was imagining things. Eventually, after much stubbornness on their part, she got the hint and let the subject drop.

Arthur wasn’t around as much. Some nights he’d be gone the whole time, staying who knows where and doing who knows what. Dom didn’t ask him about it, and Arthur wasn’t talking.

It annoyed him, but there wasn’t much he could say about it. Arthur still came by to watch the kids when he needed it, but that was about the extent of his helpfulness. By the time Dom needed to go to the college to start his new job, he barely even saw Arthur anymore.

It didn’t take Dom long at all to admit that he missed him.

*

One day when Dom returned home from work early, Arthur was actually there. Unsure of his purpose or how long he’d be staying this time, Dom decided it was in his best interest to clear the air between them.

“You could at least pretend to be happy for me.” Cobb stood in the part of the hallway that served as an entrance to the living room, not quite entering the space but not quite out of it either. He kept his voice in the most calm, level tone he could muster. The last thing he wanted was to have this lead to another spat. His head hurt already and he was just so tired after the long day he had. Fighting wasn’t on his agenda.

“About what?” Arthur asked ignorantly, sitting on the couch and barely glancing up from the mug of tea or coffee or whatever the hell he was drinking this time.

“You know what,” he answered sarcastically, biting his tongue afterwards as he caught himself. “The teaching job,” Dom clarified for him anyway. Don’t snap. Arthur doesn’t like that.

“I’m happy if you’re happy, really I am.”

“Well that settles it then. I am happy.”

“Really, are you?”

Screw this. There was too much distance between himself and Arthur, literally and figuratively. So he joined him on the couch, leaning back on the arm rest opposite from Arthur. No sense in getting _too_ close. Yet. They didn’t usually need to talk things through like this, but it appeared that now they did. Cobb’s seduction would have to wait.

“Why don’t you think so?” When Arthur didn’t answer, just sat there silently shaking his head, Dom pressed. “Come on, you can tell me. I need to know.” He was about to add in a desperate _please_ , but then Arthur finally answered.

“It’s not that I don’t believe you, I just wouldn’t expect it.”

Confused, he asked, “Why?” Dom blinked a few times.

“I always thought you would want more. Need more than a nine-to-five job and a domestic lifestyle to keep you happy. I’ve been picking up odd jobs here and there for weeks, hoping you’d want to join me, but you never said a word.”

“Neither did you,” Dom pointed out. “I didn’t realize you wanted to dream-share with me that badly.” Things are starting to make a little more sense to him.

Arthur shrugged. “I never had to say anything before. You used to jump at the chance to use your dream-sharing abilities.” He paused for a breath. “Used to want to spend time with me.” He said the last part so quietly that Dom almost wanted to ask him to repeat it. To clarify he heard him correctly, of course.

Dom’s not sure what surprised him more. That Arthur admittedly was longing to spend more time with him, or that Arthur apparently didn’t think he and Dom had been spending a lot of time together in the first place.

“We have been seeing a lot of each other,” Dom started to say very slowly. “Or at least we were before you decided not to show up half the time.”

It’s not like Dom had forced Arthur away, or told him to spend his nights anywhere else other than the Cobb home. And if Arthur had wanted to be with Dom, all he would have had to do was ask. Dom wanted to tell him this, but when he opened his mouth to speak he realized he was too scared to make the admission. His mouth closed instead as he bit on the inside of his lip.

“Because I need more than this,” Arthur said, with a vague gesture, indicating Dom’s home and his life and Dom himself with one wave of his hand. Cobb knit his eyebrows and tried his best to hide the hurt he felt at Arthur’s words. “It might be enough for you, but I can’t keep going on like this.”

“Like what?” Dom asked softly, because apparently he could be more of a masochistic than he thought.

Arthur began to recede more into the couch cushion, Dom noticed. He gripped the mug tighter in his hands until the knuckles started to turn white, then slowly placed the cup down on the table in front of him. He refused to look at Dom while he spoke. “Doing everything for you but getting nothing in return. Running errands and watching the kids and basically putting my own life on hold because I’m in love with you. But you barely even notice when I do any of that, except for when you’re drunk, apparently.”

Dom wanted to argue that last point, because he _always_ noticed (didn’t he?), but his brain was stuck on that one phrase he’d never heard from Arthur before.

_I’m in love with you._

The final piece clicked into place, but the overall puzzle was still blurry. The tension that filled the air was palpable and suffocating, at least on his end. The way Arthur spoke, he seemed to be resigned to the fact that his love was just a thing, a piece of knowledge that he’d been living with for some time, though who knows how long. Dom wished it had been made clear sooner, but then things were never that simple. Especially for them.

“How long?” Dom asked, his voice rising a few notches in intensity.

“What?”

The words felt caught in his throat. “How long have you been in love with me?” he managed.

Arthur appeared to fold in on himself as he answered, “Forever.”

“Come on, that’s not an answer,” he replied gently.

“It feels like forever.”

It is enough.

Dom closed the remaining distance between them, scooting down the couch and feeling like a teenager on a first date all over again. His mind cleared itself of all thoughts, including his work and his past and the future, in favor of taking in the man before him who suddenly looked years younger and more vulnerable than he ever realized. And all he saw in that moment was Arthur.

He reached forward to wrap a hand underneath Arthur’s chin, grazing a thumb across his bottom lip. Arthur unwittingly leaned into the touch, closing his eyes, and Dom could feel Arthur’s breath on his skin.

He ached to kiss him. It was physically painful to sit there so close, his lips only inches away from Arthur’s, and force himself to speak instead of closing that gap. But there was one more thing he needed to say first.

“You never let me explain, you know.”

Arthur’s eyes shot open. “Explain what?” he asked wearily.

“About my teaching job. It involves psychological experiments in dream-sharing, and I was going to ask for your help. It’d be something for us to do together. Like old times,” he added with the hint of a grin. “You think you’re up for it?”

Arthur nodded and his face brightened just enough for Dom to notice. “Definitely.”

He’s not sure which one of them moved first, but it never really mattered to begin with. What mattered was finally having Arthur’s lips against his own, slowly tasting and testing the boundaries of their kiss. Arthur moved teasingly slow, but Dom couldn’t hold back anymore.

He grabbed Arthur by the shirt collar and virtually dragged the other man on top of him, so that he basically had a lap full of Arthur. Dom felt hands gripping his waist as he reached forward to cup each side of Arthur’s face. As they kissed, their pace alternated between devastatingly deliberate and hungry and passionate, depending on which one of them took control.

In the end Dom had to give in, lay back and take it, as Arthur broke away from his lips and began to leave a trail of kisses down his jaw line and neck. When Arthur reached a pulse point in his throat, paying extra attention to it, Dom let out a low growl. Damn that sly bastard; somehow he knew exactly where to press in order to drive Dom crazy.

He was a few seconds away from laying Arthur out on the couch, ripping off his clothes, and having his way with him right then and there, when the doorbell rang.

Dom broke away with a low rumble, clearly a sound of frustration. Arthur just sat there nonchalantly on his lap, looking at him with flushed cheeks and grown-out bangs hanging in front of his eyes. His lower lip looked absolutely mesmerizing. He just had to lean a few more inches forward and Dom could suck it into his mouth….

The doorbell rang again.

“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” Dom said with a huff.

Arthur sighed, but there was no grievance behind it. Instead it was a sound of amusement and playfulness. “Just go answer the door, Dom.”

“That would require you getting off my lap first.”

“Oh, right.” Now there was definitely a devilish smile on Arthur’s face. It was adorable. But then he was getting up and the warmth on top of Dom vanished.

Yes. The door.

He hadn’t invested in a peephole yet (Mal had always insisted they get one, Dom always told her he’d get around to it but he never did). Nevertheless, he couldn’t say he was surprised to see Ariadne standing there when he opened the door.

After all, it’s not like he exactly had a lot of other friends who liked to drop by for random visits. Still, not being surprised to see her and actually wanting her to be there at this exact moment were two totally different things.

“Hey,” she started out tentatively when Dom refused to say anything. “Uh, what’s up?”

“Little busy right now,” he replied hastily.

“What, is this a bad time or something? I thought Phillipa and James were at camp.”

“They are.” He hoped that short, clipped answers would give her the hint that he really didn’t want to talk right now.

No such luck.

“Well, I’ve been struggling with the thesis for this paper that’s due soon, so I was hoping you’d be able to talk it over with me.”

“Ever hear of picking up the phone?”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re one to talk. You’re all about the grand gestures, popping up out of nowhere and shit. Is that you, Arthur?” she asked, suddenly changing the subject.

Sure enough, Arthur had gotten up from the couch and appeared behind Dom. He could tell by the warm hand that was now placed on the small of his back. He wasn’t sure if Ariadne could see exactly what was going on, as Dom’s presence took up most of the doorway, but with her astute observation skills he knew it wouldn’t be long before she was putting the clues together.

Especially since Dom’s shirt was un-tucked and half unbuttoned, and his hair was all askew. Arthur was also in a similar state.

“Hey, I didn’t realize you were over here too… oh.” Her face seemed to light up in realization. Dom would be amused if he wasn’t so annoyed at being interrupted.

“You know what,” she started, “The paper can wait. How about if I come back later tonight?”

Arthur was smirking behind him. “That’s probably a good idea,” he said. Thank god for his point man’s ability to form a quick response.

“I have an idea,” she said, snapping her fingers excitedly. “What time do the kids finish with camp?”

“Uh… 4:00,” Dom answered slowly. He was curious where this was going, and more than a little puzzled.

“I could pick them up for you and entertain them for a while. We could all go get ice cream or something.”

Arthur laughed, which made Dom’s stomach flip and turn in all sorts of funny directions. “Ice cream before dinner?” he asked. It wouldn’t have bothered Dom; he was used to over-indulging his kids. Uncle Arthur, however, was usually a different story.

She crossed her arms in front of her chest and perked up her nose. “Do you want some alone time or not? I was just trying to help.”

Dom cut in this time before he could respond. “That’s very thoughtful of you, Ariadne. We’ll see you back here around 5:00? I’m sure Arthur would love to make us all dinner.”

She grinned. “Sounds good.”

“Good.”

And just like that, she turned around and was gone before ever really coming in. Dom pulled the door closed and barely heard it click shut before Arthur was turning him around and pinning him against the hard surface. Dom would have protested, maybe, but then Arthur’s tongue was in his mouth and any sort of objection died in his throat.

After some unknowable amount of time, Arthur pulled away and Dom was left leaning forward through the empty space, attempting to seek out his lips again. But Arthur had him good and trapped against the door, so that Dom could barely move. Damn, he was stronger than he looked, the scrawny little thing.

“Volunteering me to make dinner, huh?” Arthur asked, and it took Dom’s brain a few moments to catch up with what he just heard.

“It seemed like the logical choice,” Dom said once his head cleared up enough for him to form speech. Somehow kissing Arthur had let to him being out of breath. It was a beautiful kind of chaos. “Out of the three of us you are the best cook.”

“That’s not saying much,” Arthur pointed out.

True. But still.

“Look, is that really what you want to talk about right now? Because I could think of more than a few better things you could be doing with that mouth of yours.”

Arthur took a step closer to him. “Oh is that so?”

“Mmm,” was Dom’s only response, but he felt himself nodding. When it became clear that Arthur must be looking for a bit more direction from him, Dom continued. “Most of it would require a more comfortable surface, though.”

That did it. Arthur’s mouth was now right up against Dom’s ear and his cheek was grazing his own. He felt the rough stubble of a few days’ growth on his face and heard Arthur whisper to him. “Like a bed?”

“Ah, the brilliant Arthur finally catches on.”

“You’re the one who needs an endless amount of hints,” Arthur said, always wanting to get the last word in. He then turned and began walking in the direction of the bedroom, _Dom’s_ bedroom, his hips sashaying subtly as he walked. An unconscious beckon for Dom to follow along.

This time, it was the only hint Dom needed.

*

_Mal always said that the only thing she needed to be happy was for Dom to keep surprising her. Basically, to never ever be boring._

_Needless to say, when he showed up after his return from the military stint with a younger military brat in tow, she seemed to actually be quite pleased._

_Arthur and Mal took to each other right away. Cobb was sure it had something to do with the fact that Arthur spoke French to her on their first meeting, dropping “enchantée’s” and all those familiar flattering words, plus a few others that Cobb didn’t recognize._

_He wanted to be jealous, but the pure look of delight on Mal’s face (Arthur’s as well) allowed him to resist those urges._

_Mal worked with her father on dream-sharing experiments most of the time, while Cobb filled his days with college classes. He was going for his Master’s and unfortunately it took up most of his time. Whenever Cobb was too busy to meet up with Mal on campus, Arthur offered to spend some time with her. Knowing that his fiancée often became bored and lonely without him, Cobb agreed that it was a good idea._

_Unsurprisingly, it wasn’t long before Mal started bringing Arthur into the dream world with her. Knowing that he had some previous experience with it seemed to delight her, and Arthur didn’t seem to mind._

_Once when the three of them experimented together, with Arthur being the dreamer, he saved their asses by creating a paradoxical trap that kept some rather nasty projections away. When they woke up, Mal could barely contain her excitement. Cobb wanted to ask her what the big deal was, but he bit his tongue instead._

_“He’s a natural at this,” Mal told him later after Arthur had left and they were alone in their apartment._

_Cobb shook his head. “You should have seen him back on the base. The layered dreams nearly made him go crazy.”_

_She tilted her head to the side. “Well he seems to be fine with it now.”_

_“Yeah, after a lot of convincing on my part. Maybe this dream-sharing technique isn’t as stable as we once thought.”_

_“Are you questioning our abilities?” she asked, clearly meaning herself and Miles. And it was also clear that she was starting to get annoyed._

_He let out a breath. “No, that’s not what I mean at all.” He grasped her shoulders and then began to stroke down her arms in a calming gesture. “I’m just saying we should be careful with Arthur. I don’t want him losing it again.”_

_She paused for a moment, closing her eyes. Then she nodded to herself and opened them again. “I’ll think of something. There’s always a solution. But I’m telling you, that boy was made for creating dreams.”_

_There was no denying that. Despite his reservations, Arthur was nearly flawless when it came to building stable dreams. They weren’t the most creative or extraordinary, but they were most certainly real-like. In Arthur’s own version of reality, anyway, with crisp lines and all post-modern decor._

_As they continued to explore their capabilities in dreaming together, it became clear that Arthur was now a permanent fixture in their lives. He was added to the wedding guest list of course, which Cobb was very grateful for on the day of the actual wedding. Arthur helped him into his tux and calmed him down when the nerves started to overtake him._

_It was a small affair, mostly just their close family members attending, but it felt natural and right for Arthur to be there too. Plus he looked dashing in his own tuxedo, tailored, pressed, and complete with bow-tie._

_Then Mal walked down the aisle, arm-in-arm with Miles, looking more radiant than ever. Cobb couldn't take his eyes off of her._

_His world became his devotion to her, but Arthur was always there too, in the distance. He stuck around through Phillipa’s birth, surprising Cobb. But then, he wasn’t going to complain. The extra set of hands was always useful around (their first) house. It helped having Arthur around for babysitting duties as well, whenever Cobb and Mal had time and decided to go on a date by themselves._

_At some point along the way, Cobb stopped wondering why Arthur did not seem to be interested in dating, or why he stuck by Cobb’s side. He had his own separate life from the Cobbs, but he didn’t talk about it much, and Dom didn’t want to pry._

_He believed they were happy, the three of them (four after Phillipa came along). That’s all that mattered to him in the end._

_It wasn’t until after James was born, soon after he began to talk and was just starting to become comfortable around his uncle Arthur, that Arthur finally left._

_Cobb never knew why he left or what it meant, and after several shortened phone conversations with Arthur it became clear that the other man did not want to be figured out._


	4. Part Four

  


 

Arthur couldn’t figure out what to make them for dinner, and Dom couldn’t blame him. The Cobb fridge was bare, as Dom had little time lately for grocery shopping. Neither seemed to keen on leaving the house to buy any ingredients, either. “What have you been eating the past couple weeks without me?” Arthur had asked, his brow creasing. Dom didn’t really have an answer for that, not wanting to admit that a lot of take out had been involved.

In the end, they settled on calling Ariadne and asking her to do the work. She agreed, only after making them promise that they owed her one.

Dom wasn’t sure what he was promising, but he felt far too relaxed and content to care.

Then he watched as Arthur fretted about the kitchen, cleaning every possible surface multiple times. It bordered on obsessive, but at least his house would have the cleanest kitchen on the block by miles. Dom followed Arthur with his eyes as he paced back and forth, doing this and that, eventually making him dizzy.

“Hey,” he said, gently grabbing Arthur by the elbow as he reached for the bottle of surface cleaner for the third time in a matter of minutes. “Slow down. You don’t need to do that, you know.”

Arthur shrugged his shoulders together. “I know, I’m just afraid to stop.”

Dom shook his head, not understanding. “Why?”

“Because if I stop, then I might wake up.”

Understanding dawned. Somehow, Arthur thought he was dreaming.

Before Dom could reassure him that this was most certainly not a dream (and since when had that become _his_ job?), Ariadne knocked on the door and Arthur went to let her in.

“Roll your die, for Christ’s sake!” Dom yelled to his retreating back. There wasn’t really any other way he could think of to convince Arthur everything that just happened between them actually, well, happened. He could still taste the feeling of Arthur’s lips on his own, and that was the only evidence that Dom needed.

He didn’t even really know where his top was at the moment, anyway. Having his totem began to matter less and less as time went on, the more days he spent with his children in happiness.

Speak of the devil, Phillipa and James came rushing into the kitchen and into their father’s arms. Dom smiled, kneeling down so he was on their level, and held them tight. In no time, both children were talking a mile a minute, filling the previously empty air with all of their adventures from camp.

“Whoa, one at a time,” he said, which didn’t really stop them from talking over each other.

“I didn’t know Ari was going to pick us up,” Phillipa said eventually, always the one to bring up adult things as she attempted to act older than her age.

“Aunt Ari got us ice cream!” James exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear.

Dom’s expression widened in mock surprise. “Wow, lucky you. I hope you didn’t ruin your appetite for dinner.”

Phillipa shook her head emphatically. “Of course not.” She insisted on never skipping a meal, even breakfast. Mal always had a love for good cuisine as well, so he knew she must have inherited that trait from her mother.

“Let’s get started on making dinner then,” Arthur said as he entered the room.

“And by us you mean you,” Ariadne confirmed, standing by his side now.

“Right,” he agreed. She walked past him, placing the bags of groceries on the counter.

In less than an hour, Arthur had dinner prepared and the Cobbs sat around the table while Ariadne helped serve them. Dom could get used to this.

They made small talk for a while, indulging the kids as they continued to chatter about more fanciful things. Dom expected the meal to be more awkward than it was, but instead everything just seemed to fit. The only difference from their previous meals together were the looks that Arthur and him shared across the table, Ariadne staring at them knowingly. She seemed to be getting the biggest kick out of the whole thing.

“So, how was your day?” she asked, indicating Dom with a nod. In any other circumstances it would be a completely innocent question, but not this time. Not with the way Ariadne obviously smirked while asking it.

“It was quite enjoyable, actually.”

“Oh?” she pressed him on, leaning forward with her elbows on the table, holding her face in her hands.

“Yes,” he answered simply. He wasn’t about to give her anything. “My class is moving right along and the students seem to be starting to get it, finally. Well, most of them anyway.”

“Do you need any help with the material?” Arthur asked, enthusiastic about carrying on this topic. Anything to distract from the implications in Ariadne’s line of questioning, he supposed.

“Probably. Teaching dream-sharing kind of requires first-hand experience, you know? And while I’ve had a hell of a lot of experience, there’s always more to experiment.”

“You two should experiment together,” Ariadne said, with much more excitement than that statement required. Dom mentally scratched his head, trying to figure out why exactly she was so thrilled about this idea. It was kind of cute, in an obnoxious busybody sort of way.

“I think we’ll do just that,” Dom said. “You can watch over the kids sometimes while we’re occupied with dreaming?” he asked, knowing that he had her trapped. She would understand what he had left unspoken. The only way he was going under again for any length of time was if he had someone he trusted looking after his children.

“Sure,” she answered, drawing out the word. “If you pay me.”

Dom narrowed his eyes. “You didn’t make enough from the Saito job?”

“Maybe, but it never hurts to have a little extra. Besides, my time is valuable.”

“Of course,” he said, hinting at sarcasm.

“It’s settled then,” Arthur said in all seriousness.

“What are you guys talking about?” Phillipa asked. She hadn’t spoken for a while, and Dom had almost forgotten that she was even still listening.

“Nothing, sweetie,” he responded. How do you explain something like their current conversation to a six year old?

“Yeah right.” She clearly didn’t believe him. No, she was way too smart for that, of course.

Arthur continued for him, trying to appease her. “Ari’s just agreed to be your new babysitter, how does that sound?”

Phillipa scrunched up her nose. “I’m not a baby and I don’t need a sitter.” Typical defiance.

“Yes you are, you are a big baby!” James screeched, then giggled at his own joke.

“I am not,” Phillipa argued, sounding incredibly offended. “You’re the crybaby!”

“Hey,” Dom interrupted, knowing he had to nip this one in the bud or risk having two upset children on his hands. “Nobody here is a baby, okay? Aunt Ari’s just going to be around more often to play with you guys when Daddy and Arthur have to work, if that is acceptable to you.” _Good work, Dom,_ he silently praised himself. Give the choice back to the children, or at least make them think they had a choice. He knew Mal would be proud.

“Okay,” Phillipa agreed, her demeanor completely shifting in a more positive direction. Dom recognized how much she appreciated having a female figure around who wasn’t as old as her grandmother.

“Fine,” James said, already moving on from the discussion to playing with his mashed potatoes. Luckily they didn’t have much of an attention span at that age.

Dom looked to both Ariadne and Arthur in turn, and was filled with a rush of comforting warmth at their obviously pleased smiles.

Oh yes, Dom could definitely get used to this. And he would try his damnedest not to let that fact scare him as much as it probably should.

*

The next day’s lesson covered the concept of subconscious projections and the implications they had when it came to sharing dreams with another person.

Of all the topics Dom had laid out for his class curriculum, this was the one that scared him the most. All morning, before arriving at the college, his thoughts were plagued with images of Mal and the fiasco that was his own subconscious.

Trying not to think about it was like telling himself not to think about elephants. Didn’t work.

His students were inquisitive enough. In fact, they asked more questions than they did in any of his previous lectures. Daniel, a boy with long brown hair and a mischievous smile, raised his hand after Dom explained that the dreamer could talk to another person’s projections to get information.

“Yes?” Dom said, acknowledging the boy’s raised arm.

“Are you ever able to control your own projections?” he asked.

Dom swallowed. “Not likely. As I said, it’s your _sub_ conscious at work. For example, think about your own dreams. Are you able to control what happens to the people you dream about?”

“No,” Daniel said, smirking. “If I did, Angelina Jolie would be naked in them.”

The rest of the class laughed awkwardly. What a charmer. Dom just smiled in response. “It works sort of like that. Somehow, your conscious wants and desires don’t always match up with your subconscious mind. When dream-sharing, there may be information that you’d prefer to keep hidden, but your projections are more forthcoming with these secrets. So it’s really impossible to control-”

As he spoke, the door at the back of the classroom slowly opened and a familiar figure entered. Dom’s mouth remained open mid-sentence while Arthur found an empty seat at the back of the lecture hall. He hadn’t mentioned anything about dropping in, so of course Dom was going to be a little surprised. Still, the lesson needed to go on.

“Have your projections ever given away your secrets before?” the same nosy kid asked. A hush seemed to fall over the class until the silence became deafening. For the first time, standing on a platform in front of a hundred or so students, Dom felt very alone.

He looked over the sea of faces staring back at him, but the only face he took in was Arthur’s. They held each other’s gaze for a moment that seemed to stretch into eternity.

“Yes,” he said simply, not wanting to give any more away for multiple reasons. But he thought of one more important thing to tell them, for whatever it was worth. “I guess the parting lesson is, be careful who you take into your dreams with you.” Most of the students nodded and smirked, while some of the more vivacious girls giggled out loud. He pretended to ignore them.

Dom checked his watch. It was five minutes early, but it would have to do. The sight of Arthur looking back at him intently was more than a little distracting. “That’s all I have for you today. Enjoy your weekend.” The words were barely out of his mouth before the students were packing up to leave.

While the classroom emptied, Arthur slowly made his way up to the front. Dom packed his briefcase, only glancing up nonchalantly to see him walking down the stairs.

“What’s up?” he asked, before realizing that it might be serious if Arthur felt the need to actually come to his work. He started to panic a little. “Is anything wrong?”

“No, nothing like that,” Arthur reassured him, as he must have heard the worry in Dom’s voice. “I was just curious to see what you’re like as a professor.” His mouth curved up in a lop-sided grin.

“I see,” Dom answered. “Was it to your liking?”

“Well I didn’t get to see much,” Arthur started, taking a significant pause. “But I like what I saw.” His gaze lowered down Dom’s body and back up again with a recognizably sly look.

“Stop that,” Dom said, no real malice behind the words. His breath began to quicken.

“What?”

“Flirting with me. It’s not like you.”

“Not like me in a good way or a bad way?” Arthur asked, taking a few steps closer until all that remained between them was a podium.

Dom closed his eyes and exhaled. “Good way.” Took another breath.

“Then why should I stop?” Arthur reached over the podium and grabbed onto Dom’s tie, pulling him forward until their lips nearly touched, when they heard a voice.

“Oh, I forgot my-”

Dom reared back as if from an electrical shock, and the way Arthur sort of half-stumbled was almost comical.

“-cell phone,” the voice finished. Dom looked up to see one of the giggling girls from earlier staring back at him with wide eyes. Well, this would surely go down as one of his more embarrassing moments. “I’m sorry, professor Cobb,” she said with a faint blush coloring her cheeks.

“No, it’s perfectly fine, um...”

“Erica,” she supplied.

“Erica, right.” He smiled tentatively. “I promise I’ll learn all of your names eventually.”

She nodded, grabbing her phone before practically running up the steps in the other direction. When the door closed behind her, Arthur turned around and glanced back up at him. “Well,” he said. “You want to go get coffee?”

He nodded emphatically. “Definitely.”

Arthur nodded. “Lead the way then.”

“You just want to stare at my ass, don’t you?” Two could play at this game.

Miraculously, Arthur was able to keep a straight face. He’d be a good poker player, that was for sure.“Perhaps.”

Dom laughed, picked up his briefcase and began to strut in the direction of the stairs, Arthur following close behind.

*

Dom was accosted by the aroma of coffee grounds that permeated the tiny college campus coffee shop as soon as he opened the door. It invigorated him, and he genuinely felt like he could take on the world again just as soon as he got some glorious caffeine into his system.

He ordered coffee for the both of them (Dom’s with creamer and two sugars, black for Arthur) while the point man did his job of grabbing them a table by the window, overlooking the student common area.

Dom brought him the coffee and took pride in the fact that he hadn’t needed to ask for his order. Most of their caffeine intake occurred during late nights of working together, going over every last detail for their next job. Sitting together in public like any other normal couple on some kind of coffee date was surreal.

“That girl is totally crushing on you, you know that right?” Arthur asked as Dom took his seat.

“What girl?” he asked, feigning innocence.

“Erica,” Arthur said, rolling his eyes up to his brow. If his eyes rolled back any further, they’d be at the back of his head. “Your student.”

“No way. She’s barely eighteen.”

“So? That never would have stopped me.” Arthur gave him a pointed look. And wasn’t that all kinds of ridiculous. After all, Dom still saw himself as an old man sometimes, and thought that others looked at him the same way. He often forgot that they all still saw his physical age of thirty-seven instead.

“That would be highly inappropriate,” Dom said, but his expression said something else entirely.

“Good thing I’m not your crushing student then.”

Dom hadn’t been publicly affectionate with anyone since Mal, but he placed his hand on top of Arthur’s and squeezed his fingers, a smile crinkling his eyes. “Maybe not the student part, but I definitely would say you were crushing,” Dom replied with a newly acquired confidence.

Rhetorically he asked, “What was your first clue?”

This was fun. _Fun_. Dom tried to remember the last time they’d been like this together. Casual. Just two guys hanging out, delicious banter going back and forth. Dom couldn’t even recall, but it seemed like a damn long time.

Dom hid his grin behind the rim of his cup as he brought it up for a sip of the too-hot liquid. It burned his lips, but he enjoyed the taste of it going down all the same. Arthur watched, licking his lips unconsciously. Once again, Dom felt himself extremely tempted to lean forward and suck on that bottom lip that currently had Arthur’s attention. If they hurried, they could probably get home in time for some intimate activities before Ariadne and the kids arrived home.

“We could get out of here,” Dom suggested, putting his cup back on the table. “Go back to my place?” God that sounded cheesy to his own ears, but Arthur thankfully didn’t seem to mind. In fact, the mischievousness in his eyes was clear and suddenly Dom knew what Arthur’s answer would be.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

*

The arrangement between the three of them, Dom and Arthur and Ariadne, was working out rather well, all things considered. Arthur helped with the teaching job by talking over lesson plans with Dom, grading the occasional assignment, and exploring a new dream technique every now and then. Ariadne took over most of the duties around the house pertaining to the care of James and Phillipa.

The children now had three parents. While this would be a smothering prospect for most other kids, it seemed like they couldn’t be any happier with the arrangement.

Dom didn’t explicitly tell them about his newly defined relationship with Arthur, mostly because he didn’t know what to call it himself. However, as was their way, they appeared to understand that something between their dad and uncle had changed.

“Daddy, does Uncle Arthur live with us forever now?” James asked one day, catching Dom off-guard. True, Arthur had lived there for an extended amount of time, but Dom hadn’t been thinking in terms of the future or how long Arthur would stay. It wasn’t something they discussed, which Dom just then realized might be a problem.

Either way, James wasn’t going to accept silence for an answer.

“I’m not sure, James. But Arthur is welcome to stay here for as long as he wants. Is that okay?”

James nodded. “Yeah. Arthur is my favorite uncle.”

“He’s your only one,” Dom said, laughing.

“But since he’s not your brother we’re not really related. Phil says Arthur is our second daddy. ‘s that true?”

Suddenly Dom stopped laughing. He didn’t know where Phillipa had gotten that idea from, but she had mentioned learning about families in camp. Maybe that’s how she figured out something was odd about their family situation.

Dom was still trying to get used to the idea of Arthur being more than just a platonic friend, let alone a father to his children. Still, once again, James looked up at him with big blue eyes that were so like his own, silently demanding an answer. “Would that be all right with you?” Dom asked.

James shrugged. “Sure, I don’t mind. Arthur makes me waffles.”

Relief flooded through him. Somehow, if James (and Phillipa) could accept him living there, then Dom could too.

That wasn’t to say that the change came completely easily. There was still Arthur’s feelings and needs to consider. While he claimed to love Dom unconditionally, Dom knew that living with himself wasn’t the easiest thing in the world. His slight neuroticism got the best of him at times, but more often than not Arthur was able to stabilize his mood. For that he was grateful.

But there were other bumps in the road. Arthur said he’d been with a man before ( _Dom forced himself not to think about who it could be_ ) but besides some drunken explorations in the past this was Dom’s first time. He couldn’t help feeling a little self-conscious, not to mention awkward. A big divide separated making out with Arthur from touching Arthur’s naked skin. Having very male hands pull him into an embrace and a male chest pressing up against his own was different, but not wholly unpleasant.

He just needed some time to get used to it.

As relationships went, Arthur was understanding and fine with taking things slow. After all, as he’d told Dom, he had waited this long to be with him. Over time, he had developed a good sense of patience. Maybe having Arthur live with him permanently wouldn’t be as difficult as he initially thought.

When Dom suggested that Arthur move out of the guest room and invited him into his own bed, Arthur readily accepted.

Late at night, when the kids were already tucked in and fast asleep, Dom and Arthur would be caught in that blissful moment between wakefulness and sleep when Arthur curled into him, humming softly. Dom would hold on to Arthur, stroking his hair or sometimes his arm, trying to get used to the feel.

Eventually he didn’t have to try anymore, and having Arthur in his bed felt as natural as building dreams.

*

Getting towards the end of the summer session, there was one more lesson that Dom needed to cover with his students. The whole class had been leading up to this point, and it was finally time to teach them.

A dream within a dream.

It had been months since Dom had used layered dreaming, but it was almost like riding a bicycle. You never really forgot.

The first level was Cobb’s design. It seemed safer to have his dream be the first one down, just in case something happened to go wrong and they needed to get out quickly. Dom chose a setting closely resembling a small city in South America, where the green plants were plentiful and there were more than a couple majestic waterfalls to encounter. He was pretty pleased with himself. Even if it was only in his mind, the rainforest was damn beautiful.

Arthur smiled at him as they walked through the forest, close enough that their hands brushed against each other with each step. A light rain drizzled and the sky lit up in what appeared to be a rainbow.

Arthur laughed then. “Is this supposed to be some subconscious hint that you’ve accepted the gay lifestyle?”

He chuckled in response. “No, well not exactly. I think it just means I’m happy.”

The other man stopped walking, turned to face Dom. Arthur searched his face, looking for the answer to an unspoken question. He didn’t say anything out loud, but something in Dom’s expression must have answered his question. Arthur nodded. “Gay also means happy, you know.”

“Well, yes.”

Dom watched Arthur closely now as they continued walking. He was watching so intensely that he didn’t notice the PASIV case underneath his feet, and almost fell when he tripped on the Somnacin device. Arthur chuckled at Dom, whose eyes held a look of shock that came from the jolt of nearly falling on one’s face.

“Shut up,” Dom mumbled, bending down to pick up the case.

“Guess your subconscious is telling us that it’s time to go deeper.”

“I’ll have to remember to tell my students about this,” Dom said, reminding Arthur and himself why they were here in the first place.

“Make sure to include the part about the gay rainbow and how those thoughts lead to you wanting to go deeper into your partner’s mind.”

“Thank you for your never-ending contributions, Arthur.” Dom winced when he realized how much he sounded like Eames, but it was too late to take back now.

The point man gave him a brilliant smile. “You’re welcome, as always.” He looked as smug as the cat who got the creamy milk, or whatever that ridiculous saying was.

“Just stick the damn IV in your arm,” Dom said, trying to hide his own amused grin but failing spectacularly.

One moment Dom was laying down in the forest, and the next moment he woke up inside an army barracks.

And Arthur was nowhere to be found.

*

When Dom first woke up and realized that Arthur was not around, his first reaction was to panic. The fact that the setting for this dream level was clearly a military base did not help to settle his nerves at all.

He searched and searched all over the base, aimlessly trying to find his way through this dreamscape that he didn’t design and didn’t have much control over. It wasn’t long before Dom began to feel an overwhelming sense of déjà vu. When he left the barracks and came across the base’s hospital, he realized that it wasn’t just a coincidence, but that he’d actually been here before.

It was the same hospital that kept Arthur bedridden during his dream-sharing training.

Dom unconsciously shivered before pressing on in the direction of the hospital building. On his way there he stopped, as a forest seemed to unfold itself right before his eyes. All of a sudden he understood.

This wasn’t just a dream at all. This was based off a memory; _Arthur’s_ memories. Which was dangerous for many reasons, and it was Dom’s responsibility to pull him out of it. Luckily he’d already done this once before, and as the memory of the last time Arthur ran away came rushing back, Dom had a pretty good idea of where to start.

He went into the woods.

Dom followed the trail that he somehow seemed to know by heart. When he heard a whimpering coming from behind a giant tree in the distance, he knew that he was on the right path. Dom ran as fast as he could towards that direction and stopped practically out of breath when he found the other man, who was kneeling close to the ground and making an almost inhuman noise.

Arthur twitched when Dom reached out to put a hand on his shoulder, but he didn’t turn away.

“Arthur,” he said simply, not quite sure what else to say. He looked back at Dom pathetically, his eyes wide open and scared. It had been so long since Dom had seen him like this; he’d almost forgotten that Arthur hadn’t always been as well put-together as he liked to portray.

“Arthur,” he repeated. “Come back with me.”

“Where am I?”

Dom had to squeeze his eyes closed and take a deep breath to calm himself down. It was almost like hearing from someone stuck in limbo who didn’t know how to get themselves out. He was terrified that this could be turning into a Mal situation all over again. He could not lose another person he loved to trap of dreams within their own minds; he refused.

That’s when the realization hit him for the first time and his heart beat faster in his chest because of it. He loved Arthur. It was more than just the love he’d feel for a friend, but not quite the same as the love he had for Mal . It was a different emotion for two different people, but the truth remained that he was very much in love with Arthur, the man who currently sat broken in front of him. Dom had to figure out a way to put him back together again. He _had_ to.

“You’re with me, Arthur,” he started. He reached for one of Arthur’s hands and wrapped it in his own, trying to offer some physical reassurance that he could be trusted. “We’re in the forest inside your own dream. Your mind must have designed the dreamscape based on your memory. Do you remember?”

Arthur nodded meekly, not meeting Dom’s eyes but instead keeping his gaze on their interlocked fingers. “I remember this place, from when I was in the army. It’s like re-living my past all over again.”

Dom nodded and squeezed his hand tighter. “We got out of that together, and we’ll do the same here.” He sat down next to Arthur and leaned against the man’s shoulder, then moved his hand to Arthur’s knee. Anything he could do to convey to Arthur that they were in this together. He turned towards Dom and it looked like some of the weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

“How long do we have to stay here?” Arthur asked.

Dom looked down at the timer on his watch and frowned as he calculated the time in his mind. “Ten minutes in real time, so nearly ten hours here in the second level.”

It felt like Arthur shrank in on himself beside Dom, arms curling around his own body. “Why did we give ourselves so much time?”

“It was supposed to give us a chance to explore the dream levels. I didn’t expect that you would build the place based off of your memories.”

“I didn’t mean to,” Arthur responded quietly. “My subconscious must have dreamt this place up. I hadn’t actually put that much thought into it, I guess.”

“That’s so unlike you,” Dom said without any hint of sarcasm. It _was_ quite unlike the point man to go into any situation unprepared, when he was usually so precise and detail-oriented.

“I had other things on my mind.”

“Oh? Such as?” Dom wasn’t about to let that one drop without an explanation first.

“I’ve been thinking about us. Trying to reason in my mind how we could make this thing work.”

“I didn’t realize it was even a question.” Dom turned until he was facing Arthur head-on. “What is there to figure out?” He realized that their relationship should be the least of his worries right now, but if it had been affecting Arthur that much then it must be important for them to talk it out.

“I told you from the beginning that I didn’t know how long I could stay. I love it there in L.A., and I love you, but I would never want to wear out my welcome.”

“You never could,” Dom said, not quite believing what he was hearing. “You’re always welcome in my house.”

Arthur sighed and started leaning in closer until his head nearly rested on Dom’s shoulder. He couldn’t move, couldn’t think or do anything. He just let Arthur lie against him and enjoyed the feel of having physical contact with another human being, even if it was only in their own minds.

“I just need to know that this is something that can last,” Arthur said eventually. Dom turned his body around to look at him, but they were so close that it put his mouth almost right against Arthur’s face. So Dom put his arm around him and leaned forward the remaining inch to place a chaste kiss on Arthur’s cheek.

“You can stay as long as you want. Forever, hopefully.” Arthur wrapped his arms around Dom in return, and they spent an unquantifiable amount of time just sitting like that on the forest floor as they held on to each other.

“Forever sounds good,” Arthur whispered into his ear. Dom just held on to him tighter.

*

They woke up next to each other on Dom’s bedroom floor. The kids were still out with Ariadne, and the house was unusually quiet. Dom glanced over to see Arthur looking back at him. He blinked the crust out of his eyes before leaning over to pull out Arthur’s IV first. The expression on Arthur’s face was clearly one of appreciation, and it made a warmth form in the bottom of his belly.

After the cords were out of their arms and laying forgotten in a tangled mess on the floor, Arthur collapsed against him and Dom tried his best to hold him up.

“Tired?” Dom asked. Not surprisingly, sleep during dream-sharing was not nearly as restful as normal sleep usually is; and he didn’t want to think of the alternative, the idea that something else could be wrong with Arthur now besides just exhaustion.

“Need to make sure you’re really here,” Arthur mumbled under his breath.

“I’m here,” Dom confirmed. “Do you need to check your totem?”

Arthur shook his head against Dom’s chest. “Tell me I’m not dreaming. I’ll trust you.”

Dom was cautious about his answer, but he responded anyway. “You’re not dreaming.” Arthur nuzzled into his neck and dropped a soft kiss there. They both hummed in contentment at that. Dom kissed his temple before moving down to Arthur’s lips, a soft mouth meeting Dom’s own. Their shared experience had brought them closer somehow, even moreso than all the months of performing extraction together, and Dom had grown more attached to Arthur in the past hour than he had ever thought possible.

Dom felt like he needed to crawl inside Arthur and claim him for his own. So he did.

They fell on to the bed together, starting off at a frantic pace until Arthur placed a calming hand on his chest and he was able to slow down. But he needed that reassurance, that physical touch to prove that Arthur was in fact there and he wasn’t leaving. When they made love, Dom focused more on the man he was with and his own feelings for him rather than the physical pleasure of it.

At some point, Dom paused and cupped Arthur’s chin, forcing him to look into his eyes. He couldn’t think of a better time to say what he’d been needing to say for months.

“I love you, Arthur.”

The seriousness and concentration seemed to melt off of Arthur’s face in an instant, replaced with the brilliant smile that Dom so rarely got to see. That one look was enough confirmation for everything they’d been through together lately, that it was all worth it.

“Thank you,” Arthur said. Dom silently accepted the sentiment, and delighted when Arthur gave him another soft kiss. Arthur did not need to return the phrase; his feelings were made clear through every movement of his body and touch that he gave Dom.

“Do you have to go to work tomorrow?” the question interrupted Dom’s thoughts.

“Yeah. I’ll be giving my lecture on multi-level dreams.”

“Just make sure you don’t tell your students about this part,” Arthur said, smiling. Dom laughed in return.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he said with a wink.

*

_Life continued on like normal from them on, at least as normal as things could be for them._

_When Dom wasn’t teaching he stayed at home with the kids, or sometimes he went out with just Arthur if Ariadne was free to play the role of babysitter. Occasionally Dom would take on legal jobs with Arthur, and they always seemed to do better when they worked together as a pair than when they were separated._

_They still dreamt together sometimes, getting information for clients or testing the boundaries of the mind. And most of the time Dom didn’t know where their dreams would take them in the end, but it didn’t matter to him either way._

_It didn’t matter as long as they were together, and would still be together when they both woke up._

I'll do anything for you  
Kill anyone for you  
So leave yourself intact  
'Cause I will be coming back  
In a phrase to cut these lips  
I love you

The morning will come  
In the press of every kiss  
With your head upon my chest  
Where I will annoy you  
With every waking breath  
Until you decide to wake up  
 _~Coheed and Cambria_  


  



End file.
